01
Beyond the App
48 pages
There are half a dozen ways to process your images, and picking the wrong one costs you weeks. Every route compared honestly — so you commit once instead of starting over three times.
Free this month
For Seestar, DWARF & Vespera owners
Northern + Southern Hemisphere editions
You bought the telescope.
Now get the photos.
421 pages that take you from the unopened box to images worth printing — using the telescope you already own and software that costs nothing.
- ✓The complete handbook, app guide and troubleshooting manual
- ✓A full processing workflow built entirely on free software
- ✓50 galaxy targets, planning tools and field cards — for northern and southern skies
The complete package
Everything You Get
Northern + Southern Hemisphere editions
Five volumes, four planning tools and three bonuses — built around the smart telescope already sitting in your house.
From people who own one
It usually isn't the telescope.
★★★★★
Bought the scope in 2022. Used it twice, honestly. It sat in the garage for almost three years — I'd get it out, remember I couldn't align it properly, put it back. Printed the setup guide, took it to a dark site last month, and by the second night I had a photo of the Ring Nebula I actually wanted to show people. Wish I'd found this two years ago.
★★★★★
The pre-session checklist alone is worth the price. Drove ninety minutes to a dark site last summer with a dead battery — never again. Now it's the last thing I check before I close the boot.
★★★★★
I kept tapping through menus in the app assuming I'd figure them out. Never did. Having every screen annotated on my iPad while I'm out there has completely changed how I use the scope — I actually know what each setting does now, and my images show it.
★★★★★
The printable settings cards live clipped to my tripod. Red-torchlight readable, no scrolling on a cold screen with cold fingers. Small thing that makes the whole night flow better.
★★★★★
Processing was the wall I kept hitting. Gigabytes of decent data sitting on a hard drive and no idea what to do with it — every YouTube tutorial contradicted the last one. The nine-step workflow finally gave me an order I could actually follow, on free software, without buying anything else. My first proper Orion Nebula came out of a stack I'd been sitting on for six months. That moment was worth the entire book.
★★★★★
I'd never used a camera before I bought the telescope, let alone processed an astro image. The 12-month calendar and the ranked target list meant I always knew what to try and whether it was realistic. It's the first astronomy resource that didn't assume I already knew the vocabulary.
What's inside
320 pages. Five volumes.
One complete system.
Not a video course you have to sit through. A reference set you keep open beside the telescope — searchable on your phone, printable for the field.
320pages
5volumes
2hemispheres
$0software cost
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Volume 1 · 76 pagesThe Smart Telescope Handbook
The core manual. From the moment you break the seal to the night you stop reaching for it.
- Unboxing & Setup — Sealed box to first image, in one evening.
- The App, Decoded — Every menu annotated. Stop tapping blindly.
- Imaging & Processing — Live stacking, mosaics, EQ mode — settings that work.
- Maintenance & Care — Beat dew and battery drain before they end the night.
- Troubleshooting — Flowcharts that find the fix at 2am.
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Volume 2 · 37 pagesPost-Processing with AstroWizard
This is where most people give up. Your telescope already saved the file — this turns it into an image you’d print.
- The 9-step workflow — Same nine steps, same order, every image.
- When to skip a step — Half of processing is knowing what not to touch.
- Stacking Wizard — Manual control when the automatic stack isn’t enough.
- Zero software cost — No licence. No subscription. No account.
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Volume 3 · 38 pagesSolar System: Sun, Moon & Planets
The targets nobody teaches you — and the only ones you can shoot from a city, under a full moon, tonight.
- Video, not photographs — 2,000 rough frames beat one perfect exposure.
- Every planet, planned — When each is worth chasing, and what you’ll resolve.
- Solar imaging, safely — The filter rules, spelled out before you point.
- Honest limits — What stacking fixes — and what it never will.
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North + South
Volume 4 · 125 pages50 Best Galaxy Targets
From Andromeda in the north to the Magellanic Clouds in the south, ranked by difficulty so you start where you’ll succeed.
- Ranked by difficulty — Start at one. Stop burning nights on the impossible.
- Will it fit your frame? — Fills the sensor, vanishes in it, or needs a mosaic.
- Best months — When each galaxy climbs high enough to bother.
- Realistic expectations — Know when you’ve succeeded instead of wondering.
- Observation log — On every page. Stop repeating the same mistake.
Northern + Southern Hemisphere editionsBoth editions included. Use the one for your sky.
-
North + South
Volume 5 · 44 pagesPlanning Tools & Field Cards
The part nobody else gives you. Not more reading — tools you use on the night.
- Target Match Calculator — Your scope, your camera, instant answers.
- 12-Month Calendar — What’s worth shooting this month in your hemisphere, rated by difficulty.
- Field Checklist — Never drive an hour to find a flat battery.
- Settings Cards — Printable, high contrast, readable by red torchlight.
Northern + Southern Hemisphere editionsBoth editions included. Use the one for your sky.
Five volumes. 320 pages. One complete system.
Get All Five VolumesPlus three bonuses that save you
the mistakes everyone else makes.
Included with every copy this month — at no extra cost.
01
02
The 10 Beginner Mistakes
Illustrated guide
One mistake per page: what it is, exactly how it shows up in your photos, and how to avoid it. Most people spend a full season finding these alone. You get them before your first night out.
Free this month
03
Dark Sky Finder
Practical field guide
The biggest upgrade to your images isn't equipment — it's driving twenty minutes. How to read a light pollution map, understand the Bortle scale, and find real darkness near you.
Free this month
All three bonuses are free until the end of the month.
Get Everything, Bonuses IncludedFrom people who own one
It usually isn't the telescope.
★★★★★
Bought the scope in 2022. Used it twice, honestly. It sat in the garage for almost three years — I'd get it out, remember I couldn't align it properly, put it back. Printed the setup guide, took it to a dark site last month, and by the second night I had a photo of the Ring Nebula I actually wanted to show people. Wish I'd found this two years ago.
★★★★★
The pre-session checklist alone is worth the price. Drove ninety minutes to a dark site last summer with a dead battery — never again. Now it's the last thing I check before I close the boot.
★★★★★
I kept tapping through menus in the app assuming I'd figure them out. Never did. Having every screen annotated on my iPad while I'm out there has completely changed how I use the scope — I actually know what each setting does now, and my images show it.
★★★★★
The printable settings cards live clipped to my tripod. Red-torchlight readable, no scrolling on a cold screen with cold fingers. Small thing that makes the whole night flow better.
★★★★★
Processing was the wall I kept hitting. Gigabytes of decent data sitting on a hard drive and no idea what to do with it — every YouTube tutorial contradicted the last one. The nine-step workflow finally gave me an order I could actually follow, on free software, without buying anything else. My first proper Orion Nebula came out of a stack I'd been sitting on for six months. That moment was worth the entire book.
★★★★★
I'd never used a camera before I bought the telescope, let alone processed an astro image. The 12-month calendar and the ranked target list meant I always knew what to try and whether it was realistic. It's the first astronomy resource that didn't assume I already knew the vocabulary.
The complete package
Everything You Get
Northern + Southern Hemisphere editions
Five volumes, four planning tools and three bonuses — built around the smart telescope already sitting in your house.
Before you decide
Questions people ask us
Which telescopes does this actually cover?
It's written for smart telescopes — the ZWO Seestar S30, S30 Pro, S50 and S50 Pro in the most depth, since that's the largest installed base. DWARF and Vespera owners get full value from the imaging, planning, target and processing volumes; only the app-specific chapters are Seestar-focused.
The processing workflow, the 50 galaxy targets, the Solar System volume and every planning tool work with any telescope that produces an image file.
Do I need to buy any software?
No — and that's deliberate. The entire workflow runs on free tools. No PixInsight licence, no Adobe subscription, no account to create, no data collected from you. Install guides for every program are included.
I've never processed an image in my life. Is this too technical?
This is the worry we hear most, and the system is built around it. The processing volume assumes you have never opened an astronomy program before: it takes the file your telescope already saved and walks you through nine clearly separated steps, with a screenshot at every one.
You don't need the mathematics. You need to know which button, in which order — and that is precisely what you get.
Is this for beginners or experienced imagers?
Both — but it starts at zero. Chapter 1 begins with the box unopened. Later chapters cover EQ mode, mosaics, plate solving, continuous capture and remote operation, material experienced users still come back to. Nothing assumes prior knowledge, and nothing talks down to you.
I live in a city with heavy light pollution. Is there any point?
Yes — with honest expectations, which we set rather than promising miracles. The Moon and the planets are essentially unaffected by light pollution: you can shoot them from a balcony tonight, and the Solar System volume covers exactly that.
For deep sky, the light pollution filter chapter and the Dark Sky Finder bonus will take you considerably further than you expect.
Northern or southern hemisphere?
Both. The 50 Best Galaxy Targets volume and the Planning Tools & Field Cards volume come in two editions: one for the Northern Hemisphere and one for the Southern Hemisphere, each with its own targets, seasons and monthly calendar.
You get both. Use the edition for your sky. Everything else — the handbook, the app guide, the processing workflow and the Solar System volume — applies anywhere in the world.
Do I need to already own a telescope?
It helps, but no. The opening chapters cover choosing between models and what to look for before you spend, so plenty of readers work through it while still deciding. If you already own one, skip straight to the chapter that matches where you're stuck.
How do I receive it, and can I print it?
Everything comes as PDF files — nothing to install, nothing shipped. Read them on computer, tablet or phone, and print any page you like. The field checklist and settings cards are designed to be printed and taken outside with you.