This is the book that we (OSI and CXB staff) highly recommend to anyone interested in Astrophotography! We refer to it daily when handling customer questions. It is our "Astrophotography Bible". This is the one to get!

Title: The Deep-sky Imaging Primer, 2nd Edition - Imaging the Universe with a Digital Camera
Author(s): Charles Bracken
Other Info: 8.5" by 11.0", 238 pages, Paperback, 1.5 lb item wt.

The second edition of The Deep-sky Imaging Primer is a substantial update to the first edition, with revised and expanded text and over 325 illustrations. Printed in full color, it covers everything you need to know to capture stunning images of deep-sky objects with a DSLR or CCD camera:

• The fundamental concepts of imaging and their impact on the final image

• How to pick a telescope and camera

• How to get set up and take the images

• Where and when to find the best objects in the night sky

• How to process images using Adobe Photoshop® and PixInsight®

• Start-to-finish examples of image processing

Complete coverage of PixInsight® has been added, with workflows for both PixInsight and Photoshop®. There are also two new start-to-finish processing examples. The early chapters have been revised, with clearer explanations of important topics like noise and resolution. And a new appendix provides details of the best imaging targets for northern hemisphere imagers. Overall, it’s a bigger, more readable book, with a lot more content.

Like the first edition, the book is structured in three sections:

• Understanding Images explains how electronic sensors work and introduces the critical concepts of signal and noise.

• Acquiring Images describes how to use telescopes, cameras, and computers to capture deep-sky images.

• Processing Images is the longest section, covering everything you need to know to turn raw data from the camera into a deep-sky masterpiece. In addition to Adobe Photoshop, it now includes full coverage of PixInsight, which is fast becoming the main image processing tool for many imagers.