Deep Space Astrophotography with a Star Tracker | Start to Finish, For Beginners

This is a start to finish tutorial where I walk you through how to capture a deep space target using a beginner-friendly and portable astrophotography setup. I then walk you through how to process that data to get to a final image using Siril, a free astronomy imaging processing tool. This video is geared towards beginners - something I wish I might have come across in my earlier days.

Just a note: during the intervalometer portion of this video, be sure to set your INTVL (interval) to include both your exposure time + the additional time you want between sub exposures. For example, if you are taking 60.0 second sub exposures and want an interval of 5 seconds in between each exposure, be sure to plug in 00:01:05 in the INTVL (interval) section rather than just 5 seconds. If you purchase the newsiest version of the Star Adventurer, the 2i, then an intervalometer is not necessary as you can connect to your phone via the app.

#astrophotography #astronomy #deepspace #deepsky #nebula #beginners #spacephotography

My Gear:

Light Pollution Filter: Astronomik CLS CCD EOS R Clip-Filter
Comparable: OPTolong-L Professional Deep Sky Broadband Clip-Filter

Bahtinov Mask for Rokinon 135mm

External Intervalometer:

Software:

Star Adventurer Console App

Polar Scope Align

Stellarium

SkySafari

Siril

AFFILIATE LINKS:

Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means at no extra cost to you, I will make a small commission if you click them and make a qualifying purchase, which helps support my channel so I can continue creating more videos.

[Billythek]

Thankyou youtube algorithm. Its so hard to find manually a channel with quality like this.

[danial_amini]

the eerie background music really helps with deep space astrophotography vibes

[MichalBazan]

This is probably the best astrophotography for beginners tutorial on YT.

[glennotf]

Wow! I’m going to have to watch this a few times, and take notes, particularly around the calibration frames, but how you covered all of this in 50 minutes is beyond me. This is the most comprehensive, efficient, and enjoyable Astro tutorial I’ve seen on YouTube and I thank you for your time and effort. Kudos!

[AstroRoad]

At first I was like, "how does it take 50 minutes to cover DSO on a star tracker", then proceeded to watch probably the most complete tutorial I've ever seen. Giving Peter Zelinka a real run for his money! Especially loved the coverage of Siril, often looked at it but didn't have the frame of reference for how to work it into my workflow (mainly landscape astro). Super good job, love the shirt!

[msolano]

The amount of information packed in 50m is amazing. Truly, thank you for providing such a detailed guide for all the noobs like us that want to start taking pics of the sky.

[ronlevandoski]

Love to see young person with so much knowledge and tech knowhow!

[xmptz]

This was unbelievably a godsend. So helpful. Instructions so clear. I just purchased a starwatcher 2i with Rokinon 135mm and canon EOS 60d.
This was so perfect. Thank you thank you! Will be trying it all out soon

[stephencox]

Sarah, wow what a tutorial!. Everything for the beginner like me, in one place. With respect to the polar alignment, for myself I have been struggling to understand how to use the reticle to set up, you described it in a way that it just clicked with me. Thank you for sharing such informative videos. I live in North Lincolnshire in the UK and since starting out in March this year we have had very few clear skies, so by watching tutorials like yours I am gaining knowledge for when I can actually get out out.

Thanks for sharing, very much appreciated.

[mjklein]

If you're going to do something, take the time to do it right. This video is one of the best examples of doing just that. Thanks Sarah.

[hotflashfoto]

"... as the day turns into night, as most days do." You delivered that with a deadpan style and I had to stop the video to recover from laughing!

[musiqueetmontagne]

Thank you Sarah for uploading this tutorial. I'm in my late 60's and have been shooting and enjoying photography for over 50 years. I understand quite a bit about light, lens designs, digital image processing etc. etc. but know very little about astro photography techniques with trackers/equatorial mounts and the like. So finding a video/channel with simple step by step instructions/ teaching is a God send, many channels go so quickly and assume the listener knows all the basics. Thanks so much again and good luck with your channel.

[Sheds]

An excellent video. As a more elderly astrophotographer I found bending down to do polar alignment difficult so I bought a Skywatcher 90° Polar Scope Eyepiece. They're not cheap but my back said a big thank you, and polar alignment is so much easier now. Clear skies.

[GenevaWatkinsvlogz]

I’ve just bought a tracker and was more than a bit overwhelmed so I was happy to find you’re channel. You’re a great teacher. Thank you.

[Valtiel]

Holy shit finally someone who explains things clearly, concisely and demonstrates every step. I damn near lost my mind trying to figure out every little thing as so many other Youtubers start blabbering on about all this unnecessary tech/detail stuff like I'm watching Star Trek FFS. This has helped me in many ways right near the peak of my frustration. Thank you very much!

[aRareBird]

I’m very impressed with your presentation of the steps involved in astronomical image processing. You organized & presented it in a logical & highly professional manner. Very educational. Kudos!

[gregmolchan]

Thanks for the in-depth, easy-to-understand walk through. A lot of work but also proves you can get impressive results with the Star Adventurer and a "modest" camera rig.

[heezymd]

Great video. I am just starting out and have watched so many videos. I think because most of the videos were from a more advanced point they seemed to have skipped over a lot of basics. I failed on my first few outings. I learned a lot from this video and now I'm excited to head back out there. Thank you.

[my-pixels]

Thank you for the thorough explanation and walking us through each step. This is how video tutorials should be done, precise to the point.

[Vlaakster]

This is the most ridiculously informative video I've seen on YT. Just fantastic. Thanks a lot for putting in the time to make this. I have wanted to try shooting a DSO for a while. My limited night sky work has just been wide field and that has been fun. I do have a move-shoot-move I've used a few times and it really sparked my interest. Your video makes it all seem doable! Also, that image from just a regular mirrorless and a 135 prime... 🤯