Sara Wager Astrophotography
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      • SGPro - Creating a mosaic in software
    • The difference in RGB and Ha light
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I thought that it may be useful to others to know what books I have used. These range from general astro imaging books, specific image processing books and books that help me find nightly targets to Catalogue's that give specific information about targets.

I have linked to the books on Amazon and specific sites where appropriate, although some are no longer in print and so it will be worth hunting around to get the best price. I have found Abebooks particularly useful for getting out of print books and second hand ones where Amazon prices are silly.
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General astrophotography books

Making Every Photon Count - Steve Richards - This is an excellent starting place for anyone wishing to start astrophotography. It is written in simple to understand language and with many illustration it takes you through the kit you will need to start taking Deep Sky images and will also help you to understand why you need it. There's also a section at the end detailing some processing techniques and it gives you references for all the relevant software you will need.

The Deep-Sky Imaging Primer - Charles Bracken - This is almost a follow on from the Steve Richards book. It doesn't cover the basics of the kit you will need or how to use it, but it does have useful sections on all areas of imaging and processing. It does rely a little on theoretical equations, but if you are not technical minded you can skip them and not lose anything. There are a lot of illustrations for the points made in the book, especially the processing section.

The New CCD Astronomy - Ron Wodaski - This is a more general book, in line with Steve Richards, but it is more detailed and theoretical. It has all sections you will need and I found it very useful in parts. It also has section on processing and how to obtain and calibrate your data. 
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Processing Astronomical Images

Lessons from the Masters - Robert Gendler at al - This is a book aimed specifically at processing images, with chapters from many big names in the imaging world. They cover processing of all areas, including planetary, solar and DSO's. There are many illustrations showing before and after images as well as specific Photoshop illustrations when detailing imaging processes. This is an excellent book that will suit people who want to explore all areas of imaging. It also covers callibration of data and there's some chapters on PixInsight as well.

Photoshop Astronomy - R Scott Ireland - This book covers all areas of DSO processing with a CD included so that you can follow the steps in the book with the same data. There are numerous illustrations as well showing the various processes involved. I haven't found this book as useful as the others as I haven't found it as simple to follow.

The Zone System for Astro Imaging - Ron Wodaski - This book is an excellent resource for really understanding the fine details of processing. It's packed full of Photoshop screens and simple explanations. This is a difficult book to get now, but it's well worth it and ended up giving me some real 'light bulb' moments.
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Finding Imaging Targets

The Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies - Jeff Kanipe and Dennis Webb

Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders - Robert Bruce Thompson et al

Deep Sky wonders - Walter Scott Houston

The 100 Best Astrophotography targets - Ruben Kerr

Deep Sky Companions : Hidden Treasures - Stephen O'Meara

Deep Sky Companions : The Secret Deep - Stephen O'Meara

Deep Sky Companions : The Caldwell Objects - Stephen O'Meara

1001 Celestial wonders to see before you die - Michael Bakich

Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Atlas - Wil Trion et al

Catalogues and specific target information

Concise Catalogue of Deep-Sky objects - WH Finley

Atlas of the Messier Objects - Ronald Stoyan

Uranometria 2000.0 Vol 3 Deep Sky field Guide - Murray Cragin

NGC 2000.0 - Roger W Sinnott ed





General Astronomy books

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Universe - Martin Rees

The Stargazers Handbook An Atlas of the Night Sky - Giles Sparrow

Hubble : A window on the Universe - Giles Sparrow

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  • Recent images
  • Images Gallery
    • Interesting images
  • About me
    • Star People article
  • My Blog
  • Latest Dual rig adventure
  • Astro Pixel Processor tutorials
  • Asteroids and me.....
    • How to find asteroids
    • How to create an asteroid time lapse
  • My observatory
    • The observatory rebuild
    • Equipment
    • Light pollution and astro darkness
  • My guide to image capture
    • Real world comparison - Kodak / Sony chip
    • Dual imaging set up
    • Creating an inset in Photoshop
    • Artistic one channel processing
    • Rubbish in, Rubbish out - you decide
    • Image process tutorials
    • Start / finish - Processing is THE key
    • Building a mosaic >
      • SGPro - Creating a mosaic in software
    • The difference in RGB and Ha light
    • The benefits of extra subs in graphics
    • Narrowband information
    • To bin or not to bin...
  • Equipment reviews
    • PrimaLuceLab Eagle S
    • All things ODK 10
    • PrimaLuceLab PLUS mounting system
    • Avalon linear guide settings
    • Starting out with the Avalon StarGO - Fitting and connecting to a PC
    • Avalon StarGO - Setting a custom park
    • Mallincam All Sky
    • Aviosys IP Power 9258 4 port
    • Avalon M-Tre mount
  • My published images
  • Links
  • Other Astrophotographers
  • Useful books
  • Write in my Guestbook
    • Contact me