> The images shown in the article probably make extensive use of long exposure times and computer-aided merging of photo series taken over a long observation ti

> The images shown in the article probably make extensive use of long exposure times and computer-aided merging of photo series taken over a long observation time. More and more amateur astronomy images rely on stacking images digitally from several relatively short exposures. Not having to deal with long exposures makes this quite a bit more approachable as a hobby. > This technique usually requires a telescope with an equatorial mount and a motor that allows you to "follow" an object in the sky while taking pictures of it, which by itself is already quite challenging to build When we're dealing with stacking images digitally, an azimuthal mounting can work. A computerized "goto" alt-azimuth telescope mount suitable for amateur astro/planet photography is well within the budget of a hobbyist (a few hundred bucks is enough for an entry level mount). This is also how the giant telescopes operate, they all are alt-azimuth mounted these days. The last equatorial giant telescope built was the Mt. Wilson observatory built in the 1930s or so. The issue with alt-azimuth mounts is that the image gets "rotated" as the mount tracks the object in the sky. This can be corrected digitally by rotating the image and aligning it to background stars. Equatorial mounts don't have this issue and they can be used with long exposures on photographic plates. Despite all this new fancy digital technology, astrophotography is still a very challenging task and a fun hobby!