One-Shot Color Astronomical Imaging

Anyone who has seen recent pictures of the many wondrous objects in space has surely been amazed by the stunning color images. Trying to capture images like these through your own telescope has always seemed too time-consuming, expensive, and complicated. However, with improvements in affordable, easy-to-use CCD imaging technology, you can now capture amazing images yourself. With today's improved "one-shot" color imagers, high-quality images can be taken in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost, right from your own backyard.

This book will show you how to harness the power of today's computerized telescopes and entry-level imagers to capture spectacular images that you can share with family and friends. It covers such topics as

- evaluating your existing equipment, choosing the right imager, finding targets to image, telescope alignment, focusing and framing the image, exposure times, aligning and stacking multiple frames, image calibration, and enhancement techniques!

- how to expand the number of objects you can "see" with your telescope, especially in the light-polluted skies near urban areas

- image-processing routines specific to today's popular one-shot color imagers