The Deep-sky Imaging Primer, Third Edition

This is the book I wish had existed when I was getting started with astrophotography. The author has modestly entitled this book a “Primer”, and it is that. But it is also a comprehensive tutorial and reference work. This book stands out from the others in the field in several regards: • It is truly all-inclusive, covering every aspect of imaging from A to Z. Section 1, Understanding Images, starts off by explaining the unique challenges of deep-sky imaging, and then proceeds to lay out what you need to understand about sensors, dynamic range, signal/noise, and other detailed, foundational topics. Section 2, Acquiring Images, is a how-to guide through every aspect of actually capturing images: Choosing a telescope, camera, filters, mount; focusing, guiding, and exposures. Section 3, Processing Images, is an in-depth how-to for turning your raw, grainy, monochrome images into those beautiful, detailed, full-color deep sky photos you see in magazines. There are plenty of books that cover equipment and how to acquire images, but treat processing images as an afterthought; and there are plenty of books that focus on (one) post-processing tool, but none others as far as I know that cover the whole field so thoroughly • Although much of the material is technical, as it has to be (if you If you are daunted by technical detail, then maybe deep sky imaging isn’t for you), the explanations are crisp and lucid, supplemented every step of the way with clarifying illustrations. I wish explanations of this quality had been in my college physics textbooks. And the ultimate focus of the topics is, always, WHY you need to know this: How it affects the manifold decisions and tradeoffs you need to make about equipment, location, exposures, targets, processing, and so forth. • Section 3, Processing Images, is worth the price of admission alone. Most books cover a single processing platform, such as Photoshop, and then throw a blizzard of techniques at you, often with little direction as to why you’re doing what you’re doing, or what to do in what order. This book, by contrast, after introducing the principles, goals, and tools of post-processing, systematically guides you through the rationale and expected results of each step, pausing along the way to show you specifically how the step can be accomplished in different popular programs: PixInsight, Photoshop, AstroPixelProcessor, and Affinity Photo. These programs can be overwhelming, with slews of menus and tools and choices and options and different ways of doing things. This book cuts through the chaff and explains which ones are actually of practical use in imaging, and why and how to use them at various stages. Not all of these programs support a full astro processing toolset, so you are shown how you can do end-to-end processing using a mix of programs if you prefer. For example, if you are already proficient in Photoshop, you may want to cut your teeth on deep sky imaging by using a relatively turnkey program like AstroPixelProcessor for pre-processing, then use Photoshop for post-processing. This book will guide you through that. Then, when you’re ready to climb the mountain of PixInsight, you can follow the same processing logic in the PixInsight chapters. That is a big leg up, and leverages what you already know. • The book is loaded with what are clearly experienced-based best practices and suggestions: Tips on composition, how to annotate your images, how to make the best use of your time in imaging sessions, how to choose the right subs to take, and countless other dos and don’ts. As I said at the beginning, I wish I had this book when I was getting started, as I had to painfully learn a lot of these lessons myself; and in reading this book I was very, very grateful to discover numerous valuable practices and suggestions new to me, especially in the post-processing chapters. In summary, if you’re going to buy one book on how to do astro imaging, then this is the one. And I’ll bet you won’t want or need any other for a long, long time.

Its a great reference book if you are interested in the basic mechanism of astrophotography - and you should because it makes a big difference, saving you time, cost, frustration The individual chapters read well and have a good balance between covering best practices and some basic math. It is very helpful to have this all together in a book than scattered across internet fora, highly recommend this to anyone. The chapter ordering is somewhat illogical if you compare it to your typical workflow ; concept of plate solving, composition in the back? Another item I was missing was the basics of what we are imaging; emission lines from Nebulae, or broad band galaxies? It is mentioned in the filter section, but not really clear from a workflow perspective. At the time of writing there were several competing software packages for processing, and these different software products are all covered - I hope in the next edition (which I will surely buy) the author has been able to make a choice for one platform that our hobby is converging on. It is very light on target selection and planning - that is however covered very well in another book from the same author that I would recommend.

More valuable to me than my OTA! This reference guide has been the best investment in astrophotography I've ever made. I strongly recommend any new astrophotographers to start with this book! Do not buy any astro-equipment (like I did) before reading this book. STUDY first! I wish I had done this first because it would have saved me literally at several thousand dollars from the beginning, from the selection of my OTA (would have bought an EdgeHD instead of an XLT OTA then eventually bought a very expensive coma corrector to help fix the problems with the XLT SCT), would have started with an APS-C instead of a stock IMX533, would have bought a CGX mount instead of the VX, would have bought 2" filters and a seven position filter wheel instead of starting with 1.25" LRGB filters, and don't get me started on the money I wasted on guide scope/camera combos....If you are new to this hobby then you most likely do not know what I'm talking about yet which is why I hope you see the importance of studying first, buying later is the best strategy for astrophotography. I've learned that this hobby, while AMAZING, is very, very expensive and our time is even more precious so taking 100 hours out of your life to invest in studying this book BEFORE you start buying gear will save you more than I can tell you. This book helps you plan just as much as it teaches the fundamentals so it is a worthy investment. OK, I'm done evangelizing this book!

Essential reading before considering astrophotography, and well written with examples of why one should take the advice. I should have read this book earlier.

Day 1 and I’m learning so much. I very much appreciate the foundation he’s building in the first few chapters so that we’re all on even ground moving forward. I’ve been circling the subject for years and am finally diving into the subject. That being said I’m 12 pgs in, and I’ve run across 3 errors … that I’ve caught. I so want to learn this accurately.

I love the books of Charles Bracken, they are written with people like me in mind--folks who are getting interested in astrophography and want to make the most of the limited opportunities we have to capture the cosmos. This book covers just about everything you need to know to get pretty deep into the hobby, and is presented clearly and methodically. Very well done!

Altough I am only a novice in AF, just started about a year ago, to me this is the best standard text book that money can buy. Comprehensive, very clearly written, with both mathematical theory, as well as very practical examples, pictures, advice and infographics. A joy to carefully read and learn from and a brilliant piece of meticulous work from years of experience and deep knowledge and understanding.

This is a must book to understand all the aspects of astrophotography. I had been doing astrophotography for about a year before purchasing this book. Even the topics that I thought I knew, this book extended my knowledge even further. At first I thought that the author may have went too far in some topics but found myself going back and really wanting to know those details. If you really want to get the best images possible, read this book.