Contents

  1. Chapter overview
  2. Chapter 1 The Symphony of Modern Astrophotography: Beyond the Telescope
  3. Telescope OTA (Optical Tube Assembly)
  4. Computerized mounts
  5. Camera: DSLR/mirrorless, cooled camera or planetary/autoguiding camera
  6. Electronic focusers and rotators
  7. Guiding systems
  8. Flat field generators and telescope cover motors
  9. Environmental controllers and dew suppression solutions
  10. Chapter 2 Two Pathways to Astrophotography: Planetary/Lunar vs. Deep-Sky
  11. Planetary/lunar astrophotography
  12. Deep-sky astrophotography
  13. Chapter 3 Deep-sky objects to photograph in every season
  14. Some of the deep-sky objects you can capture in Spring (Fall if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere)
  15. Some of the deep-sky objects you can capture in Summer (Winter if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere)
  16. Some of the deep-sky objects you can capture in Fall (Spring if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere)
  17. Some of the deep-sky objects you can capture in Winter (Summer if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere)
  18. When can I take pictures of Solar System planets?
  19. When can I take pictures of the Moon?
  20. Chapter 4 Astrophotography with Telescopes: a Step-by-Step Guide
  21. Step 1: prepare your EQ or Alt-Az mount
  22. Step 2: install telescope onto mount and set Home position
  23. Chapter 5 PLAY software for EAGLE or Windows 10/11 computers
  24. How to let PLAY control your devices
  25. Use CONNECT ALL to quickly connect to devices
  26. Enable dual-telescope mode to simultaneously control 2 OTAs
  27. Chapter 6 Use PLAY to Capture Images
  28. Use PLANETARIUM tab to view sky chart, select targets and control mount
  29. Use FOCUS & ROTATE tab to control ESATTO or SESTO SENSO 2 focusing solutions and ARCO rotator
  30. Use the CALIBRATE tab to control GIOTTO smart flat field generator or ALTO telescope cover motor
  31. Use the PREVIEW tab to set your camera and preview your image
  32. Use SEQUENCER to start an image sequence acquisition
  33. Use AutoFocus to automatically find the best focus point
  34. Use Auto Alignment to automatically align your telescope to the sky
  35. Use AutoStacking to automatically improve your pictures
  36. How to record Flat calibration frames
  37. How to record Dark/Bias/Dark of Flat calibration frames
  38. Chapter 7 Use PLAY and SharpCap to capture Moon and the Planets
  39. Use AutoStakkert and Siril for planets and Moon processing
  40. Chapter 8 How to Control PLL Observatory Stations with EAGLE Computer and PLAY
  41. Step 1: startup procedure
  42. Step 2 (optional): launch handpad simulation software for your mount
  43. Step 3: launch PLAY and control your telescope
  44. Step 4: shutdown procedure
  45. PLAY safety features for PLL Observatory Stations
  46. Maintenance suggestions for using a Telescope or PLL Observatory Station
  47. Chapter 9 Useful astronomy software that can be used together with PLAY
  48. PHD Guiding, the autoguiding software
  49. Drift Alignment using PHD Guiding
  50. Use PixInsight Weighted Batch Preprocessing to calibrate deep-sky images recorded with PLAY
  51. Use PixInsight to process deep-sky images recorded with PLAY
  52. Chapter 10 Best Windows settings to optimize your computer performance
 
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