Practical Astrophotography

J.R. Charles

Springer, 2000 – ISBN 1-85233-023-6 – pp.xvii + 301 – £19 (paperback)

Reviewed by M.P. Mobberley : Journal of the British Astronomical Association, 110 (5), 287 (2000)

For those who thought that astrophotography died out with the availability of commercial CCD cameras, think again. This new addition to the Springer ‘Practical Astronomy’ series is a comprehensive guide to successful astrophotography, and will give much hope to those observers who cannot afford CCDs, or who feel more at home with photographic film.

The author, Jeffrey Charles, is an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, and the founder and owner of Versacorp – a company which has produced versatile off-axis guiders and flip-mirror finders since 1984. Many of the photographs in the book are by the author, using Versacorp products and his 90-mm Questar Maksutov.

The 300 pages are split into ten chapters which begin with the basics of photography and astrophotography, and take the reader comprehensively through fixed- and tracked-lens photography and on to guided astrophotography through the telescope. Developing and printing the results is also covered. The book features an incredibly useful set of appendices, including an astrophotography exposure guide and numerous invaluable checklists for astrophotography at home, at a star party, or when travelling abroad. I cannot overemphasise the usefulness of these checklists – they are superb!

Most chapters deal fully with their subjects, and from a very practical viewpoint. It is clear that the author has endured all the pitfalls of astrophotography, learnt the subject the hard way, and wants to help others avoid some of the nightmares. As an illustration of how much attention to detail is included, specific subsections provide invaluable advice on, for example, polar alignment methods, a step-by-step guide to off-axis astrophotography, how to get equipment safely through airport check-ins, and the correct observing etiquette when observing at a multiple observer site.

If the book is incomplete in any area it is in the subject of high-resolution lunar and planetary photography, although admittedly, CCDs now dominate in this field. However, it would be nice to see the critical seeing, focus, collimation and image-scale issues covered in much more detail. Another area in which this generally excellent book disappoints is in the lack of large and exciting ‘in your face’ photographs, which can inspire the budding astrophotographer. Many potential purchers may pick the book off the shelf and flick through the pages, hoping to see a few full-page pictures of, for example, comet Hyakutake, taken with simple equipment. Such pictures can make the difference between purchsing a book or not, as many will make the purchasing decision based on a first impression.

These points aside, I would fully recommend the book to all budding astrophotographers – especially those who use small apertures (an ETX, for example), or camera lenses, for their deep sky work. The checklists are worth the purchase price alone. The only critical thing this book does not teach you is how to get rid of the clouds!