Welcome to Backyard Astronomy

Capturing the night sky from my backyard in Tennessee.

Hey, I’m Joel. This site is my corner of the internet dedicated to astrophotography, radio astronomy, and the endless wonder of what’s above us.

What You’ll Find Here

Astrophotography Gallery — Deep sky objects, nebulae, galaxies, and more. Years of images collected through various setups, from modest equipment to more serious gear.

Tutorials & Guides — Practical writeups on getting started with astrophotography, drift aligning your mount, collimating a Newtonian reflector, and other skills I’ve picked up along the way.

Radio Astronomy — Projects exploring the invisible side of the cosmos — from detecting Earth-ionosphere cavity resonances to sudden ionosphere disturbance monitoring.

My Journey

I caught the astronomy bug at 14 when my aunt gave me a used telescope with a chipped lens. Didn’t matter — I was hooked. Spent countless nights staring at stars, learning the hard way that astrophotography is equal parts patience, problem-solving, and frozen fingers.

After a long hiatus, I jumped back in around 2006 and have been refining my setup and skills ever since. The learning curve is steep, but that’s part of the appeal. Every clear night is a new challenge.

A Word on Equipment

You don’t need expensive gear to get started. Some of my favorite early shots came from modest equipment and a lot of trial and error. The tutorials here reflect that philosophy — practical advice that works whether you’re shooting with a DSLR and a kit lens or a dedicated astro-camera.

Explore

Check out the Astrophotography Gallery to see what’s possible from a light-polluted backyard. Browse the tutorials if you’re just getting started. And if you’re curious about the radio side of things, there’s plenty to dig into there too.

Clear skies.