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Deep Sky Objects
The Orion Nebula (M42)
There is a lot that could be said about observing and photographing Deep Sky Objects (DSOs), so I'll try to keep it simple. Here you'll find some information about equipment, photos of Deep Sky Objects here, nebulae, galaxies and star clusters. But before you go observing you have to ask yourself a few important questions:
What do you want to observe or photograph?
Star clusters, nebulae, galaxies... There are lots of them out there. Some are fairly bright, but most of them not so much. This leads to the next question.
What equipment are you going to use?
This alone could put big constraints on the targets' visibility. When it comes to faint and fuzzy objects, the size (aperture) of your telescope does matter.
Observation or astrophotography?
For astrophotography, the telescope would not be the most important thing, unless you shoot in its direct focus. Most of the time you do piggyback photography - you use the telescope for guiding, and mount the camera as a counter weight or on top of the telescope.
Before you continue you may want to check some observing tips.
Equipment
Your equipment plays very important role in the Deep Sky Object hunting. The first thing you'll have to do is find your target. If you have a Go-to system, then it will be easier. If you don't... you're skills will be put to a test. But don't worry, they'll improve with time. I'd recommend beginners not to use (or at least not always) a Go-to system (or turn the option off if you have such). Why? How else will you learn? A situation may come that you might not have the luxury of it, and then what will you do?
What do you want to observe or photograph?
Star clusters, nebulae, galaxies... There are lots of them out there. Some are fairly bright, but most of them not so much. This leads to the next question.
What equipment are you going to use?
This alone could put big constraints on the targets' visibility. When it comes to faint and fuzzy objects, the size (aperture) of your telescope does matter.
Observation or astrophotography?
For astrophotography, the telescope would not be the most important thing, unless you shoot in its direct focus. Most of the time you do piggyback photography - you use the telescope for guiding, and mount the camera as a counter weight or on top of the telescope.
Before you continue you may want to check some observing tips.
Equipment
Your equipment plays very important role in the Deep Sky Object hunting. The first thing you'll have to do is find your target. If you have a Go-to system, then it will be easier. If you don't... you're skills will be put to a test. But don't worry, they'll improve with time. I'd recommend beginners not to use (or at least not always) a Go-to system (or turn the option off if you have such). Why? How else will you learn? A situation may come that you might not have the luxury of it, and then what will you do?
Galaxies in Virgo
For astrophotography you must have very sturdy, equatorial, power driven mount. There is no way around it. When you use a longer focal length lenses, you'll have to do very precise guiding. And that's another skill set you'll have to acquire.
Lenses. Start with something simple, like 135 mm, or even 80 mm. There are plenty of targets, and it'll do you good to practice guiding. Moreover, these are short enough focal lengths, so that it'll be easier for you to keep the stars point-like. After you get some experience move to 200-300 mm. Most photos on this page are taken with 300-500 mm lenses. M16, M22 and M27 are shot using a 10/1000 telescope as a lens. My recommendation is to use 135-500 mm lenses at the beginning. There is a lot you can do with them, so don't be tempted to go straight to shooting through telescopes. Telescopes have drawbacks. The longer focal length comes with a price - larger f-number, which means much longer exposure times, and smaller fields of view.
About the photos on this page
I thought for a long time what images to use here. Since this website is oriented toward beginners, I decided to use some of my "early" attempts on photographing Deep Sky Objects. And though I say "early", it still took me a lot of time to get there. Yes, they may not wow you, but they are realistic results. They show you what to expect when you start. All astrophotos here are done using low-end equipment. And because these are some of my first photos, most of them are done using film camera, which means ve-e-ery long exposures, at times.
Lenses. Start with something simple, like 135 mm, or even 80 mm. There are plenty of targets, and it'll do you good to practice guiding. Moreover, these are short enough focal lengths, so that it'll be easier for you to keep the stars point-like. After you get some experience move to 200-300 mm. Most photos on this page are taken with 300-500 mm lenses. M16, M22 and M27 are shot using a 10/1000 telescope as a lens. My recommendation is to use 135-500 mm lenses at the beginning. There is a lot you can do with them, so don't be tempted to go straight to shooting through telescopes. Telescopes have drawbacks. The longer focal length comes with a price - larger f-number, which means much longer exposure times, and smaller fields of view.
About the photos on this page
I thought for a long time what images to use here. Since this website is oriented toward beginners, I decided to use some of my "early" attempts on photographing Deep Sky Objects. And though I say "early", it still took me a lot of time to get there. Yes, they may not wow you, but they are realistic results. They show you what to expect when you start. All astrophotos here are done using low-end equipment. And because these are some of my first photos, most of them are done using film camera, which means ve-e-ery long exposures, at times.
The Horsehead Nebula (IC434)
Nebulae
The term "nebula" comprises different astronomical objects - supernova remnants, gas clouds, planetary nebulae, etc. One of most famous nebulae is M42 - The Orion Nebula, which is giant gas cloud where millions of stars are forming as we speak. The Orion Nebula can be seen with naked eye on the winter sky. Unfortunately, most nebulae are not that bright. For some, like M16 - The Omega Nebula (also known as The Swan Nebula and The Horseshoe Nebula), and M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula, you'll need a telescope to find them. And they won't look nowhere near as good as M42 in the eyepiece. Nor you'll see any colors. 
The Dumbbell Nebula (M27)
Galaxies | 
The Omega Nebula (M16)
There are even fainter nebulae, like IC434 - The Horsehead Nebula that could not be seen in a telescope. They could only be captured in a photographs. All in all, to capture such Deep Sky Objects it would take large exposure times, skills and patience. The result, however, would justify your invested time. |
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
The Triangulum Galaxy (M33)
| Galaxies are another well know example of Deep Sky Objects. Like the nebulae, galaxies are hard to get. There are several that are bright enough to provide nice details. Among them is M31 (The Andromeda Galaxy) and M33 (The Triangulum Galaxy).
Most galaxies are not that bright. And when their brightness decreases, so does their size. Often all you'll get in your camera is a small spot with a fuzzy outskirts. See the three galaxies in Virgo near the top of the page as an example. Not that spectacular indeed. Only if you shoot through the telescope, you can get more details from a small galaxy. And to do that you'll need higher quality telescope, mount and camera. |
Star clusters
Another subset of Deep Sky Objects are the star clusters. There are two types of star clusters - open and globular.
In open clusters as the Pleiades the stars are, as the type name suggests, are loosely bound and not as clumped. Sometimes they could be so sparse that you'd have a hard time recognizing them from the background star field. In other cases they could have a nebular emission around (such that could only be seen in photographs).
Another subset of Deep Sky Objects are the star clusters. There are two types of star clusters - open and globular.
In open clusters as the Pleiades the stars are, as the type name suggests, are loosely bound and not as clumped. Sometimes they could be so sparse that you'd have a hard time recognizing them from the background star field. In other cases they could have a nebular emission around (such that could only be seen in photographs).
The Pleiades
Globular clusters, like M22, are tightly bound and spherical - hence the name globular. They all look the same way, and are not that different to photograph than small galaxies.
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M22
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