[NeilW]

Hi all,

I recently purchased The Astrophotography Manual: A Practical and Scientific Approach to Deep Space Imaging by Chris Woodhouse. At around $70 it represents a significant investment, but for those seriously interested in the field I think it's one worth making. I don't think there's been such an in depth look at the topic since Rod Wodaski's The New CCD Astronomy. Thierry Legault's Astrophotography published last year was very good, but I think Chris Woodhouse's surpasses it by quite some margin.

At 288 pages, it's an up to date and in depth exploration of DSI covering equipment, setup, capture and calibration & processing using a range of hardware and software. Although the author clearly favors Maxim-DL for capture and control, other examples are also given. But in my opinion, the 43 pages devoted to PixInsight processing are almost worth the purchase price alone. It's effectively a PI primer.

Around 40 pages toward the end of the book consist of "assignments" in which the author takes us through the specific requirements, from hardware to capture to processing, for a range of familiar "beginner" targets. There are also some useful sections in the appendix, including an excellent "Diagnostics and Troubleshooting" guide.

The book is profusely illustrated with quality colour screen shots and diagrams. I think it sets a new benchmark as a textbook for deep sky astrophotography written by someone who has worked through the process thoroughly, and I highly recommend it.