<DIV><p>At first glance, the challenge of astrophotography may appear daunting. But not only are spectacular results possible, they are easy to learn with the step-by-step instructions provided in Stephan Seip's <i>Digital Astrophotography: A Guide to Capturing the Cosmos</i>. Today, amateurs can produce images that only twenty years ago a large professional observatory would have been proud of; and this book shows you how.</p><p> Learn how to:</p>Set up your camera for optimum results Focus your camera for razor-sharp images Take beautiful night shots with a simple compact digital camera, a tripod, and a telescope Use a DSLR camera to shoot the Sun, Moon, stars, star clusters, and nebulae through your telescope Get brilliant images of planets with a Webcam Capture remote galaxies with a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera just like a pro<p> Also included are lessons on the processing that is done in the "studio" after your shoot, including how to:</p>Shoot RAW format images and improve them with calibration frames Take short exposures of faint deep-sky objects and combine them into a longer exposure Perform brightness, contrast, and color correction Make corrections to correct for vignetting and uneven field illumination Process your images for stunning results<p> Equipment requirements for astrophotography range from nothing but a simple camera and tripod to a multi-thousand dollar computer controlled telescope equipped with a CCD auto-guider and separate guide-scope. Researching the best equipment for your needs is a task in itself. Seip helps you to sort out which cameras are best for the various celestial objects, what to look for when buying a camera, and what accessories you really need.</p><p> The rewards of this fascinating hobby, as the author says, "Grants you unforgettable hours under the night sky; it allows you to produce aesthetically rewarding and lasting results. Astrophotography is a love-match between physics, photography, art, and digital image processing. It is exciting!"</p></div>