One-Shot Color Astronomical Imaging: In Less Time, For Less Money! by L. A. Kennedy

Astronomical imaging with a regular CCD camera takes a lot of patience and time from the astrophotographer, as an image is combined in during processing out of several frames in different filters and depending on the object, one single frame can take tens of minutes or even hours in case of very dim objects and having to take the image in three or more filters makes it very time-consuming.

However there is a way to save time by using a so-called one-shot color CCD camera, that doesn't use RGB filters but instead there's a combination of pixels that are sensitive to different wavelengths and hence make it possible to capture almost everything in just one exposure, with the different color images later being separated in image processing.

This book is about using such a camera, the equipment needed, the set-up for imaging, some tips and suggestions, and also how to process the resulting image, which of-course differs from the more usual images taken through several filters and then combining them into one, so it is an important guide to getting started with this kind of equipment.

The book would also be of interest to those astrophotographers who are just getting started in the field and who haven't just yet decided what kind of equipment to start using, as it gives a good overview and shows some of the good and bad sides of different methods, and in addition most of the book is helpful for just about any astrophotographer as a lot of the suggestions are still valid no matter whether you're using a one-shot color CCD camera or a web-camera or even a DSLR camera.

Starting with all the basics for using a CCD camera and what kind of calibration frames and why one needs and how to take them to auto-guiding and how to plan your astrophotography session and objects you're imaging.

Very useful and concise, and also inspirational.

Labels: astrophotography, book review