A Celestial Debut: Charting the Constellations

There's a certain magic to gazing up at the night sky, but actually capturing that wonder is an entirely different endeavor. For this amateur photographer, a local dark sky discovery site in North East England provided the perfect backdrop for their first foray into night sky photography.

Despite using a lens not ideally suited for the task – a 24-105mm f4 at its widest 24mm, wide open – the conditions were surprisingly favorable: no moon and mostly clear skies. The resulting image, captured with a Canon R6 mk2 and a 15-second exposure, showcases a collection of familiar constellations: Aquila, Sagitta, Vulpecula, Delphinus, Lyra, and Cygnus.

The Challenges of Celestial Mapping

Translating the visual experience into a usable image and accurately identifying the celestial bodies proved to be a learning curve. Initial attempts at plate-solving using Astrobin presented some difficulties, potentially due to a combination of factors, including the lens distortion inherent in shooting at 24mm. Ultimately, manual overlaying of annotations in Photoshop was employed to identify the constellations, though a degree of uncertainty remains.

The Allure of the Cosmos

This initial experience has undeniably ignited a passion for astrophotography. The author is now contemplating the next steps, weighing the decision between acquiring a more specialized lens for wider captures or investing in equipment that allows for greater magnification to explore deeper, more intricate areas of space. For now, however, the allure of capturing the Moon on a future outing is also a strong contender. The journey into the stars has just begun!