Making Beautiful Deep-Sky Images

Professor Greg Parker was Head of the Nanoscale Systems Integration Group at Southampton University in southern England until his recent retirement. His deep-sky astronomical images have been published in Astronomy Now and Sky at Night magazines. He is the author of Introductory Semiconductor Device Physics (IOP, ISBN 0750310219), and has written many scientific papers and articles, mostly in the area of photonics and optoelectronics, as well as a chapter (Guided-wave Optical Communications: Materials) in Elsevier’s Encyclopaedia of Materials: Science & Technology.

How did I start?.- The Beginning - and a Serious Health Warning!.- Assembling your Imaging System.- Computational Considerations - Data Acquisition and Image Processing.- A Permanent Setup.- First Light - Choosing your Objects.- First Light - your First Objects.- Wide-Field Imaging with a Short Focal Length Refractor.- Hyperstar III Imaging.- Parallel Imaging with an Array.- Fundamentals of Image Processing.- Processing Professional Data.- The Deep-Sky Images.- Differentiating your Work.- Your Largest Resource.- Book Recommendations.- Appendix 1.- Appendix 2.- Physics World Article.- Greg Parker.- Postscript to the 2nd Edition.-  Index.

"Parker provides a detailed guide to setting up one's telescope and making sophisticated images using the currently available software. ... The extensive bibliography provides the novice with a wealth of print and web resources for further study. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers." (D. E. Hogg, Choice, Vol. 55 (10), June, 2018)

"The writing is very clear, offering many tips and techniques. ... This book will be a valuable reference to anyone wishing to get started in this fascinating hobby." (Computing Reviews, November, 2017)

"This book doubles as a technical guide to deep sky astrophotography for intermediate or advanced astrophotography enthusiasts but also as an inspirational guide to show what can be achieved with enough time and effort. ... And 'Making Beautiful Deep-Sky Images' might just provide you with the inspiration to do so together with the skills you'd need to start taking amazing photos of some of the most beautiful astronomical objects." (AstroMadness.com, August, 2017)