It’s certainly possible to just go outside with a camera and take photographs of the night sky. A DSLR on a steady tripod with a wide-angle lens can produce amazing results with a 30-second exposure under dark skies! Everybody should just try this first before buying more expensive equipment and software.
For a deeper look into the cosmos though, we need to use software. There’s a wonderful selection available that makes it surprisingly easy to climb the learning curve toward producing stunning images of the deep sky and solar system. Continue reading