Astrophotography of Richard S. Wright Jr.
Back when I was working regularly for Software Bisque, I made a lot of YouTube videos about how to use TheSkyX, Paramounts, sometimes a sneak peek at upcoming projects, etc. It seems fitting that now that I m making my own software independently that I should do the same for myself! I hope I never become...
Has it really been a YEAR since I ve posted here? Thanks for sticking around! A lot has happened, I just haven t been posting a lot of astrophotos. I ve been cranking out Sky Telescope reviews much more frequently than in past years, and almost all of my work has been in the service of those...
I don’t do a lot of selfies, but I made an exception at the recent Grand Canyon Star Party. The Milky Way there is bar none the best I’ve seen naked eye, or photographically. It’s a dark sky park certified by the IDA (International Dark-Sky Association), and at the South Rim we are at an...
Sometimes I feel like I have three full time jobs. The day job at LunarG, writing for Sky Telescope takes more time than you d think, and I m heavily involved in this new gizmo that is being made by Pegasus Astro. Another small treat each month is writing an article for the folks at Sky...
Happy Halloween! It seems an appropriate day for my latest work, NGC 7380, also well known as The Wizard Nebula. I ve always loved this nebula as I have an affinity for Wizards and fantasy literature and movies. This emission nebula is colored by glowing hydrogen and oxygen gases. It s about 8 hours of exposure with...
Astrophotography did not start in color. Various chemical techniques culminated in using glass plates with chemical films, which still produced a black and white image. A technique still in use at professional observatories in the 1970 s when the original Star Wars was released. My most unpopular advice about astrophotography today is to start with monochrome...
Deep sky astrophotographers often resort to a narrowband filter (or line filter) to image deep sky objects when the Moon is up. This is because Moonlight scattered in the sky often washes out most color filters. However, when imaging emission nebula, we often will use a special filter that is sensitive only to a particular...
A well known and often shot emission nebula in the constellation Cepheus is the Elephant Trunk . Cropped in on just the trunk people see all sorts of things. One day by chance my wife saw the image rotated in a such a way, that she said it looked like Smaug the dragon (from the Hobbit)....
Sky-Watcher 25th Anniversary Limited-Edition SkyMax 127 Virtuoso GTI $775.00 A complete and capable tabletop telescope. One of the biggest problems with telescope ownership is many people often get a scope that is suitably impressive and capable but takes a bit of time to setup for use. The best telescope you have is the one you...
The weather for astrophotography in Florida is so dismal in the summer, or rainy season as I call it. Even when it s bright and hot outside, there s a haze of moisture and thin clouds most days, and the nights are quite opaque. We had a break the other morning and I had a chance to...