Astrophotography planner and rig calculator
Check that your telescope, camera, mount and filters work together, then get tonight's clear-sky forecast, moon and the best deep-sky targets for your rig and location.
Astrophotography guides
- How to use RigTonight to plan an astrophotography rig and night
- How to build your astrophotography rig in RigTonight, step by step
- RigTonight's compatibility checks explained, and how to fix each one
- How to read RigTonight's astrophotography forecast and plan your night
- How to find deep-sky targets that fit your camera's field of view
- Save, share and take RigTonight into the field: rigs, links, night mode and offline use
- Astrophotography and the moon: when you can still shoot, and what to shoot
- Astrophotography for beginners: what you need and what to shoot first
- Civil, nautical and astronomical twilight: when is it dark enough for astrophotography?
- How to calculate your telescope's field of view, and what will fit in it
- How to photograph the Andromeda Galaxy (M31): focal length, filters and exposure
- How to photograph the Horsehead and Flame nebulae
- How to photograph the North America and Pelican nebulae (NGC 7000)
- How to photograph the Orion Nebula (M42): framing, filters and exposure
- How to photograph the Pleiades (M45): blue reflection nebula, framing and filters
- How to stop dew ruining your astrophotography: shields, heaters and power
- Is tonight good for astrophotography? The six things to check
- Star tracker or equatorial mount? Choosing a mount for astrophotography
- The Bortle scale explained: how light pollution changes what you can photograph
- Back focus explained: how to work out the spacers for your imaging train
- Dual-band vs narrowband filters: which suits your camera and targets?
- Guide scope or off-axis guider? Getting the guiding ratio right
- How much can your mount really carry? Payload for astrophotography
- Image scale and sampling: matching your camera to your telescope and seeing
- Powering an astrophotography rig in the field: how long will your battery last?
- What to image each season: a deep-sky calendar for astrophotographers
- Which weather model should astronomers trust? ECMWF, GFS, ICON, GEM and UKMO compared
- Your first deep-sky astrophotography rig: three sensible starting points