Astrophotography: Some good Books

There are some great resources on the web about getting stared in astrophotography and even more advanced knowledge on the subject.  But sometimes there is no substitute for a book.  There are few books I still use all the time and highly recommend if you want to learn more about astrophotography.  Even if astrophotography is not your thing, but you like to use a telescope for visual use you will learn a lot about general astronomy as well.

The first great book to start out with is The Backyard Astronomer's Guide.  This book is a great stater book.  It goes over all the different types of telescopes out there. You will read about mounts and eyepieces and how to start atrophotography if you wanted.  Even if you just want to use a telescope for visual use only this is a great resource.

Nightwatch is another one that I still pull out all the time.  You will find all kinds of general information, but this book really shines with the sky maps it provides.  This is book to use to learn the constellations as well as well as finding the location of any object you would want to view.

And finally whether you are just looking at targets or trying to take a picture, there are certain times of the year that each target is at a great location in the sky.  The 100 Best Astrophotography Targets has great pictures of each deep sky object from galaxies to nebula.  The book also gives information about CCD imaging which is a step above using you DSLR camera.  I don't do any CCD imaging yet and the book is an awesome guide of when I should photograph an object, not to mention the photos of each object are stunning.

These are some great books for your bookshelf if you love looking at the hidden treasures in our sky.  They are also books that I sitll pull out and reference still.