Astrophotography for Beginners by Cathal Byrne in Navan Library. Phone: 046 902 1134

Cathal’s talk will describe the different types of telescopes, how they function and what telescope is best suited for certain applications such as visual vs imaging telescopes, Lunar and planetary imaging, Deep Sky imaging, Solar imaging, Widefield/Nightscape/Milky Way photography and what essential equipment is necessary for astrophotography, how it works and how to set it up. He will describe the ideal settings to use on a DSLR or mirrorless camera and how to use a dedicated astronomy camera.
Along with taking photos of the night sky, astrophotography involves taking what are called calibration frames. Cathal will show examples of each type of calibration frame, what they are for and how to take them. Then I will explain the programs used for the process of stacking the captured exposures and calibration frames and for post-processing to create a final image. Finally, if there is time, he can do a quick demonstration of the post-processing.