Hello Friend,

Astrophotography can be discouraging, especially if you do it the hard way.

Here are some important tips for night sky photography, and following these will make
your first attempts at astrophotography far more delightful.

 1)  Know the limitations of your telescope:

  If you want to take images of deep sky objects, and you have a dobsonian telescope, then it's going
  to be very difficult, since dobsonian's, for the most part, don't track.  Yes, you can buy an aftermarket
  tracking base, but it's going to cost you a small fortune, and introduce all kinds of other problems.

2) Learn how to use all the features of your telescope mount.

Let's say you have an equatorial mount.  Learn how to manually polar align it.   Same thing if you
have  a computerized mount. Understand the process of polar alignment, and then practice it.
Most mounts have fine adjustment knobs, on the azimuth, and altitude. Make sure you have them
set up properly, so they work when you need them too.

note: If you don't have a polar scope, then it's highly recommended to get one;  many mounts will
either include one built in or you can buy one as an option.

3) Start on easy targets to begin with: Yep, I'm talking the Moon,  Saturn and Jupiter.
    Experiment with different exposures times.  Write them down, so you know what works
    and what doesn't.

4) This one is key: Take time doing the setup, leveling of your mount. Taking care on this step
     will pay up handsomely in the long run.  Don't rush it.

If you want to dabble in astroimaging with a CCD camera, you can get some great results with
very basic cameras costing from between $100 to $250.  Don't discount these! A great way to get
your feet wet, and get some decent results.

You'll be thrilled when you see your first astroimages, and you will learn from your mistakes along
the way. 

And believe me, you'll make a few.

I'll have to make a list of the Top ten blunders, and share them with you.

If you can think of any, drop me a line.

Clear Skies,

Ray Khan

PS This Celestron imager is one of my favorites.  It get's good results without spending
      a ton of money. ( http://www.khanscope.com/productdetails.cfm?productID=4171)