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A Primer on Astrophotography

by

William McLaughlin

General Imaging Information

• Basics of CCD Imaging

This short page is designed to give some simple background on the technology used to take these images. It is intended for the non-technical viewer.

• Advice for Beginners

Looking to take up astronomical imaging as a hobby? This page has a few basic "dos and do nots" for the brave souls that wish to venture into this hobby.

• Equipment and Processing

Here you will find a brief discussion of the hardware and software that Bill uses to produce these images plus links to the manufacturers of these products.

Tutorials

• LRGB Technique

This older tutorial provides a step-by-step tutorial on using PhotoShop to perform the LRGB color image technique.

• Focus Techniques

Also a bit dated (from a 1999 lecture) but this gives a good background for understanding focus.

• Tpoint and Image Link

The instructions for using Tpoint with Image Link in TheSky are not so hot so here are some instructions written for humans! (For TheSky V5.X)

• ImageReady Tutorials

From my 2004 talk at the AIC conference. These extensive tutorials detail how to use ImageReady to do Rollovers, Image Maps, and More!

Voyages

• Iceland and Aurora

A voyage to Iceland to view aurora.

• Voyage to Antarctica

Voyage to the Ross Sea by Icebreaker

Other Informational Pages

Clouds and Atmospheric Phenomena Photos

Pictures of clouds, atmospheric phenomena, aurora and some time lapse movies.

Image Comparison Pages

These pages are devoted to images of specific objects as imaged by myself and other imagers.

CCD Imaging Links

A page chock full of links to other imagers, informational sites, and places where products may be purchased.

Weather Information

Weather Page

Use of my Images

If you want to use any of my images, you should read this page first.