🔭AstroBackyard @AstroBackyard

The 'Purrrrrfect' Astro Rig ✨ I've been running this ridiculously easy setup every clear night alongside the other setups I'm testing. There are two main reasons that this rig is just too painless to NOT run every chance I get: 1. The ASI585MC Air has a built-in ASIAIR and Guide Camera. One camera instead of 3 devices. 2. The EAF (autofocuser) means that I don't ever have to touch anything (focus was the only thing left) - everything is done on my phone in the house. I just polar-align the mount, then use the ASIAIR to control it and go to any target I want. Oh, and the modest sensor size means the file sizes for each exposure are manageable (15 MB), and stack quickly. This is a random nebulous region in Cygnus I photographed last month! 240 x 5 minutes (20 Hours Total) Camera: bit.ly/48GYbk7 Telescope: bit.ly/4jdl6by Mount: bit.ly/3QzZsns Filter: bit.ly/3SxH7Gl What a time to be a backyard astrophotographer!

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The 'Lion Nebula' in Cepheus is a faint but beautiful cloud of glowing gas, and one of those deep-sky targets that really comes alive through astrophotography. This large emission nebula is shaped by massive stars, whose intense radiation and stellar winds light up the surrounding hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur gas. I captured this from my backyard using a large refractor telescope and a color astronomy camera. This is the most detail I've ever been able to collect on this target! 🤠 Camera: bit.ly/3CaQWUI Mount: bit.ly/4qIlq4e Telescope: bit.ly/4shlAjE Image Details: 120 x 300-seconds 10 Hours Total Exposure Processing Guide: bit.ly/4oe2pqp

This guy right here:

The 'Eagle Nebula' in Serpens is one of the most iconic deep-sky objects in the night sky and is home to the famous Pillars of Creation. This glowing region of hydrogen gas is an active stellar nursery, where young stars are forming inside towering columns of dust and gas sculpted by intense radiation and stellar winds. I captured this from my backyard during my testing of a new astrophotography telescope - and I am pretty impressed with it - hopefully you saw the video! 🙂 Camera: bit.ly/3CaQWUI Mount: bit.ly/4qIlq4e Telescope: bit.ly/4shlAjE Image Details: 50 x 180-seconds 2 Hours, 30 Minutes Total Exposure Processing Guide: bit.ly/4oe2pqp

I got to test a $5,000 astrophotography telescope... and the images I took with it blew me away (they better!) youtu.be/dfo6W2LiXSo

The telescope used:

The 'Crescent Nebula' in Cygnus is a beautiful bubble of glowing gas, and one of the most dramatic summer targets to photograph. This area is shaped by powerful stellar winds from a massive Wolf-Rayet star, creating a delicate shell of hydrogen and oxygen gas. I captured this from my backyard using a new astrophotography telescope I am reviewing - and I am super happy with the way it turned out 📷 (gear pic in the comments) Camera: bit.ly/3CaQWUI Mount: bit.ly/4qIlq4e Telescope: bit.ly/4shlAjE Image Details: 228 x 300-seconds 19 Hours Total Exposure Processing Guide: astrobackyard.com/image-processi…

The Eagle Nebula (Smart Telescope Edition) I used EQ mode and 30-second exposures, and honestly, I’m still a little surprised by what this little scope was able to pull out of the sky. The Eagle Nebula is one of the most exciting deep-sky targets to shoot this time of year, and seeing this much structure from a compact, one-click smart telescope is pretty wild. Notice the 'Pillars of Creation' in the center? 🤯 Astrophotography has changed a lot over the past few years. A target like this used to mean a much more complicated setup, polar alignment, guiding, dedicated astro camera, laptop, cables… the whole deal. Now, you can set a smart telescope in the backyard, tap the target, and start collecting light. What a time to be alive 🥹 IMAGE DETAILS: 180 x 30 seconds 1 Hour, 30 Minutes Total EQUIPMENT: S30 Pro: bit.ly/3Ym1hoH

The LITTLE Pinwheel Galaxy 📷 Somehow, I have never photographed this galaxy before, despite being right there near the Big Dipper! NGC 3184 is a stunning face-on spiral galaxy located approximately 40 million light-years away. I captured this one during a gap in the clouds a few nights ago using a new telescope I am testing right now. Using a focal length of just over 600mm, this target is a little small - but I'm still happy with how it turned out. 🤓 IMAGE DETAILS: 66 x 180-seconds 3 Hours, 18 Minutes Total EQUIPMENT USED: Camera: bit.ly/3CaQWUI Telescope: bit.ly/4shlAjE Mount: bit.ly/47DkiI6

Same nebula, three very different ways to capture it. This is the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula, photographed using three different astrophotography setups: Smart Telescope Dedicated Astronomy Camera DSLR Camera Each image tells a slightly different story. The smart telescope version shows just how far beginner-friendly, all-in-one astrophotography systems have come. It is simple, automated, and surprisingly capable. The dedicated astronomy camera version reveals the deepest detail, contrast, and structure thanks to a cooled camera, telescope, filters, and a more advanced imaging workflow. The DSLR version has a classic broadband look, with rich color and a wider-field feel that reminds me why so many of us started astrophotography this way. There is no single “right” way to photograph the night sky. The best setup is the one that gets you outside, learning, experimenting, and enjoying the process. Which version do you like best? 🤔

I Captured the Same Nebula with a DSLR, Astro Camera, & Smart Telescope! 😮 See my results using 3 very different astrophotography setups... VIDEO: youtu.be/Tf9u-C3Vf10

My Best Picture of the Milky Way Core 📷

The Telescopes of Spring 🔭🌸

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The camera is the 'astro modified' version (Ra), and I ran the session with a cheap intervalometer!

The Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex is one of the most colorful regions in the night sky, and one of my favorite summer targets to photograph. This area is filled with glowing nebulae, dark dust clouds, young stars, and the bright golden light of Antares nearby. It almost looks more like a painting than a real place in space. I captured this from a dark-sky location with my completely portable 'travel astro rig' built from components bought on Amazon 🤓 (gear pic in the comments) Camera: amzn.to/42wwXtE Tracker: amzn.to/3OWeUKp Lens: amzn.to/4tXkEma Image Details: 120 x 90-seconds (ISO 1600) 3 Hours Total Exposure Processing Guide: astrobackyard.com/image-processi…

One of the most common questions I get is: “What should I photograph tonight?” 🤔 The answer depends heavily on the time of year. Some deep-sky objects are only well placed for a short seasonal window, while others return year after year like old friends. Ashley put together a guide to help you plan your astrophotography targets by season, whether you’re shooting the current spring galaxies or upcoming summer nebulae. Here’s a seasonal breakdown of the best deep-sky objects to photograph throughout the year: astrobackyard.com/astrophotograp…

@glsteelhead Not overkill - look at the counterweight position. That's balanced!

My ToupTek StellaVita Review is going live tomorrow!

I just posted my first look at the ToupTek StellaVita! 😮 It's a smart control box that can run an entire astrophotography setup from your phone or tablet. In this video, I share my early experience using the StellaVita with a nearly complete ToupTek imaging rig, including the ATR2600M monochrome camera and HOPE D60 refractor. The biggest appeal here is that the StellaVita is trying to offer an ASIAIR-like experience without locking you into a single brand ecosystem. It supports a wide range of astronomy cameras, mounts, focusers, filter wheels, and accessories, which could make it a very interesting option for astrophotographers using mixed-brand setups. Full Video: youtu.be/TIgs8UbSpWc?si…

The Blue Horsehead Nebula 🔭 This glorious reflection nebula lies in the constellation Scorpius, close to the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex. It's a great early nebula project for this time of year. A reflection nebula is made up of very fine dust that normally appears dark in space. This dust is reflected by the visible light of nearby stars. They are some of my favorite deep-sky targets in the night sky. I captured this image using my 'Travel Astro kit' featuring a compact refractor telescope and color camera last month. I took this last May, and I'm looking forward to improving it this year! Camera: bit.ly/3CaQWUI Telescope: bit.ly/4fqtt03 Mount: bit.ly/3QzZsns 60 x 3 minutes (no filter) 3 Hours Total Exposure Processing in PI and PS