The 100 Best Astrophotography Targets: A Monthly Guide for CCD Imaging with Amateur Telescopes (The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series)

I have had this books since early last year - I am finally sitting down to write a review as recently my wife misplaced this book while organizing the house. After 2 weeks without, I was about re-order when we managed to find the place it had been put. I had meaning to write a review for a while - this incident served to reinforce how useful this book has been to me.I image with a 4" refractor and a DSLR (though will likely make the switch to mono CCD in the near future, which will make this book even more useful). I am fairly new to this hobby, and this book has been invaluable as a guide to framing, FOV and scope/sensor combinations, what to image when, etc. There is a good representation of images taken with small, medium, and long focal length scopes. I often use this book for ideas on what/how to image, then use a planetarium program (Stellarium in my case) to check framing and FOV with my specific equipment. While it is true that some objects really require long focal lengths to bring out, the author does a good job suggesting possibilities for alternate framings with shorter focal lengths where this makes sense for the target. I don't have a long focal length scope, and don't feel that this book is any less valuable because of this. I would recommend it to anyone involved in astrophotography.A few minor suggestions (from the "more of a good thing" department): 5 years after it's publishing, the list of common CCD chips used feels a little bit dated, and a welcome add would be some material on narrowband imaging. Processing has also advanced a bit since the book was published, with more HDR tools available, etc. None of these hurt the value of the book, but I would definitely purchase an updated edition.

There are a lot of books about astrophotography, and a lot more books with collections of objects to view through a telescope. But this book is one of the rare books that concentrates on objects from the perspective of an astrophotographer.Most astrophotographers stick to targets from the classic object lists by Charles Messier and William Herschel. But photography is a different discipline than observation. So the classic lists include non-photogenic objects and they miss some hard-to-view objects that are great for an imager.Ruben Kier delivers each target with three essential, but succinct, pieces: 1) the background information about the object, 2) advice on the techniques for image capture, and 3) tips for image processing. Each target treatment includes one or more photos by the author along with his imaging details. The images are excellent without being extravagant or intimidating. His processing touch is productive but gentle and the results look very real. The photo reproduction in the book is very well done by the printer so you can appreciate the quality of the original. These aren't just targets in the sky: Ruben's images are targets for aspiring imagers to match.The main section of the book holds the target information. The slimmer Section 2 includes include three short chapters on astrophotography equipment, imaging techniques and the complex process of image post-processing. This section is presented as a gateway to further investigation and isn't a replacement for dedicated books on these three subjects.The book is a valuable tool for planning and processing your images. But it's not a "field book". The perfect binding and non-laminated pages aren't built for dew-y outdoor use. However, the octavo size is very portable for imaging roadtrips. This is a "don't leave home without it" book.The book is organized for the convenience of the reader: The imaging targets are presented by the date they appear on the meridian at 9pm local standard time. By then it's dark and the scope has (hopefully) cooled to ambient temperature.Published in 2009, the book's hardware and software references are limited by that date. For example, the Section 2 discussion on focusing techniques includes basic focusing masks, but not the more recent slew of diffraction focusing tools (eg, Bahtinov). Hardware and software enumerations have unavoidably short shelf life. But luckily for imagers, the astronomy targets in the book have indefinite "use by" dates.A final observation: The promised "100 targets" actually includes 109 objects by my count. That number is the number of objects in the Messier list (and the Caldwell list and the O'Meara list). Coincidence?If you are a beginning or intermediate imager, this is a book you should have. In its narrative and photos, it's the answer to a lot of your questions. I expect many productive years from the book.

I bought this book as soon as it came out so I've had it for several months now. It has become a sort of companion and I really don't know of any other book arranged this way, and I have to say it is fantastic!. It is all meat and potatoes, no fluff or filler. And what is that? Extremely useful information stem to stern on a month by month listing of objects hopefully (depending on where you live) above the 2x airmass needed for good imaging.Gives all the stuff you want to know, scope used, exposure time, imager used, processing techniques - and best of all these are all done at medium exposure times so no 30 minute sub exposures (and the $$ mounts needed to do it) to get similar results. If you are new to imaging and want a fantastic book to get you started, this is a great choice. I think if you get this book, your imaging ability will will be greatly enhanced and you'll see why it's getting these great reviews.Although calibrating, stacking, SNR, ... 'processing images' is a theater all it's own - too often it's time spent on one object only to find on others a very different proceedure required. Here you have a fantastic array of objects with all that needed processing information in one concise and easily referenced volume. After a few months with this book you'll feel much more at home in this imaging arena and whtever you use, will start to appreciate just what a gem this little book is. Highest recommendation, I think this is a sort of instant classic of this literature.

La calidad del producto es excelente, y su contenido estupendo. recomendado.

Lo scrittore è un ottimo divulgatore di scienza . Consigliato soprattutto a chi possiede poca conoscenza della materia e desidera apprendere il mondo che ci circonda

Muy buen libro para los que les gusta fotografiar el cielo

L'ouvrage, en anglais, présente un choix de 100 cibles privilégiées pour l'astrophotographie. Les cibles présentées sont ventilées par date de passage au méridien à 21h00 (ou 22h00 heure d'été). La sélection proposée comporte 48 objets de Messier, 28 objets de Caldwell et 13 objet de la liste de Stephen 'O'Meara. Les objets ont été retenus en fonction de leurs caractéristiques propres (luminosité, taille, photographiable aisément depuis l'hémisphère nord). Chaque objet proposé est couvert par deux pages au minimum, dont une photographie couleur pleine page. L'autre page comporte une description sommaire de l'objet, des conseils de prise de vue et des conseils de traitement de l'image. On y trouve également les modalités de prise de vue de la photographie (les photos sont majoritairement faites avec une caméra CCD monochrome).L'ouvrage est intéressant pour le débutant, car il permet d'avoir rapidement une idée d'objets "simples" à photographier, selon la date à laquelle on se situe.

I'm pretty happy with this. Great selection of targets for imaging. Helpful technical info on exposure ISO settings. I would purchase again.