Astrophotography rig builder
Pick a telescope, camera, mount, guider, filters and power. RigTonight works out field of view, image scale and sampling, back focus spacers, payload, guiding ratio and battery runtime, with the fix for anything that doesn't fit.
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