Tutorials
Step-by-step guides for astrophotography techniques, equipment setup, and image processing workflows on the Mac. Whether you're learning to take calibration frames, remove light pollution in Astro Pixel Processor, set up a Raspberry Pi for remote imaging, or polar align your mount, these tutorials walk you through the process with practical, tested instructions.
Wavelet Sharpening for Planetary Images on Mac: A Strata Tutorial
Six layers, one change at a time: how to recover planetary detail without halos, grain or false texture.
How to Collimate a Schmidt-Cassegrain on a Mac with Laminar
Get the star on screen from an ASIAIR or a hand controller, then let Laminar's Collimation Aid name the screw, the direction and the amount.
How to Photograph the Moon Through a Telescope with an iPhone and Laminar
An iPhone at the eyepiece, Continuity Camera and Laminar on the Mac make a practical first lunar imaging rig. Here's the setup, and where a phone runs out of road.
IR-Pass Filters for Planetary Imaging: 685 nm vs 742 nm on a Mac
Infrared steadies the seeing but costs light and resolution. How 685 nm and 742 nm IR-pass filters compare, with a Saturn test and a Mac workflow.
Seeing vs. Transparency: Why a Clear Sky Can Still Give Soft Planetary Images
A cloudless forecast says nothing about how steady the air is. How to tell blur from haze and dew, and what to check before you capture.
How Many Frames Should You Stack for a Planetary Image?
There's no magic percentage, but there is a simple test that finds the right one for each capture.
How to Identify Unknown Objects in Your Deep-Sky Images on Mac
The full identification workflow — plate solving, catalog queries, and one-step annotation — runs natively on every Mac. Identifying an unknown object in a deep-sky
How to Organize & Track Your Astrophotography Data Library Across Devices and Cloud Storage
From scattered folders to searchable archives — a practical guide to managing integration time, calibration frames, and multi-session imaging data across local drives, cloud storage,
Where to find free raw astrophotography data for practice: public archives, sample datasets, and how to use them to build processing skills before your first session.
Free astrophotography practice data consists of pre-captured astronomical images — including light frames, dark frames, flat fields, and bias frames — shared by experienced astrophotographers to
Harmonic Drive vs. Worm Gear Mounts: How Strain Wave Technology is Changing Astrophotography
Learn how Harmonic Drive mounts differ from traditional worm gear mounts, their impact on astrophotography performance, and an overview of popular models from ZWO, Sky-
Polar Alignment Guide for Motorized Telescope Mounts
Introduction: Why Polar Alignment Matters Polar alignment is one of the most critical steps in setting up a motorized telescope mount for astrophotography or visual
How to remove sensor tilt from your astrophotography camera while indoors
What is camera sensor tilt? This year marks my 6th year into the astrophotography hobby. Just about every camera I’ve owned has suffered from