The 5 Best Winter Astrophotography Targets

Winter is an exciting time in astrophotography. Not only are the nights longer, but there are some of the absolute best deep sky astrophotography targets available to image at this time of year!

This is a list that is accessible for everyone, no matter what equipment you’re using. You might think there are some obvious targets missing from the list, so do leave a comment to let me know what your favourite winter astrophotography targets are!

The Best Astrophotography Galaxy Season Targets for any Telescope

For astrophotographers, Spring means the start of Galaxy season! Called as such due to the vast amount of galaxies available to image – clear skies permitting! Below I have compiled a list of my favourite astrophotography Galaxy season targets for any telescope.

There’s something for all focal lengths here, whether that be getting multiple galaxies in the same field of view (FOV) with a modest setup, or getting really up close and personal to a distant galaxy with a bigger scope and pulling out the amazing detail in the dust lanes. You can see which options will work for your equipment by using free software such as Stellarium to plan your imaging session.

5 Astrophotography Deep Sky Targets for Beginners

It’s no secret that some astrophotography targets are easier to image (and find!) than others. Here I am going to break down my 5 favourite deep sky astrophotography targets for beginners, how to find them and share my images along the way. All of these targets are well suited to camera lenses, but some will really pop when using a telescope. Some of these targets are visible to the naked eye, but a couple will require a basic level of star hopping. As long as you can find the nearest bright star to the target, you shouldn’t have a problem locating any of them.

Andromeda Galaxy M31

The Andromeda Galaxy was my first ever DSO target, which I shot with my unmodified Canon 1300D DSLR & 70-300mm lens. I had been struggling along with a cheap telephoto lens with my unmodified DSLR mounted on the Sky-Watcher Star … Read More