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.

Optolong L-eNhance Filter Review

With so many different light pollution filters available it’s difficult to know which one to get. The Optolong L-eNhance narrowband filter has been a complete game changer for my astrophotography. If you’re using a one shot colour camera (CMOS, CCD or DSLR), then you need to be seriously considering adding this filter to your arsenal.

The Optolong L-eNhance is a tri-band pass filter, allowing Hydrogen alpha (Ha), Hydrogen beta (Hb) and Oxygen III (OIII) wavelengths through. Isolating these 3 specific wavelengths is key when imaging nebulae such as the Heart nebula (IC1805), and your camera will filter out all that nasty light pollution that can be so damaging for us backyard astrophotographers.

The Pleiades M45

The Pleiades, also known as M45 and Seven Sisters, is an open star cluster located in the constellation Taurus. It is one of the closest star clusters to Earth, at a distance of 444 light years and is easily visible … Read More

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

Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Pro Review

The Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Pro was my first step into using a tracking mount for astrophotography. In this post I will share with you my review and tips about using this mount. I bought the Star Adventurer Pro Pack, which … Read More