Night Sky Astrophotography

Astrophotography of the night sky over Ontario, Canada, New Mexico, USA and Siding Spring, Australia

“Across the sea of space, the stars are other Suns” – Carl Sagan

My first image of M31 galaxy. Shawn Nielsen 2008

And so it begins…

My first image of the M31 galaxy. Shawn Nielsen 2008 taken with a Celestron CPC800 SCT.This was my first image taken upon

Narrowband astrophotography from the city!

One of the biggest challenges in astrophotography is dealing with light pollution. This form of environmental pollution caused by unshielded and overly

I went to the Starfest 2019 star party!

I went to Starfest 2019 which is an annual star party held in Ayton, Ontario during the month of August. It’s considered

Optolong L-eNhance Filter for Astrophotography

The Optolong L-eNhance filter is fast becoming the talk of the astro town. It’s affordable for even the tightest astro budgets but

Deepsky astrophotography with and without a narrowband filter

City lights, neighbours outside lights, limited number of clear nights and astrophotography from your backyard, all mean having to battle not only

A new awesome city astro filter! Triad Quadband Ultra Filter.

The Triad Quadband Ultra Filter from OPT is both amazing and fun to use. For many amateur astronomers and astrophotographers, light pollution

Dr. Emily Fobert; polluting the night with light

Dr Emily Fobert delivering the Flinders University #EcologyandEvolution public lecture: ‘Polluting the night with light’ “So even today in a landscape of plastic pollution

Iris nebula in Cepheus 26 hours of data. By Shawn Nielsen. VisibleDark.ca

26 hours of data on the Iris Nebula

Meet the Iris Nebula in Cepheus. Also known as NGC 7023. This image represents 26 hours of data taken over 7 clear

Welcome to my astronomy and astrophotography site. I’m Shawn Nielsen and I’m an amateur astronomer, astrophotographer and YouTuber. I’m also an advocate for better lighting at night, reducing light pollution. The astro images featured on this website were taken from various locations including dark sites in rural southern Ontario, up in northern cottage country (South Bruce Peninsula) as well as remote observatories in New Mexico, Australia and Spain. Some of the images were even taken from my home in Kitchener, a relatively light polluted city. Astrophotography is a passion of mine Continue reading…