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Learn Milky Way Astrophotography with Season 2 of the Galactic Course!

  • Writer: Antoine & Dalia Grelin
    Antoine & Dalia Grelin
  • Jul 17, 2021
  • 5 min read

Updated: Apr 15



The new season of the Galactic Course is here! 🥳 This time, it is all about Milky Way photography!

As a reminder, the first season covered deep sky imaging with a telescope. You can learn more about it HERE.


But for season 2, let's leave our telescope at home and go image our own galaxy wide-field! 🌌




Astrophotography Online Course Reviews - Galactic Course
Galactic Course Reviews

To all our current members, thank you for being part of the Galactic Course and remember, this new season, along with all the others that will come after, are 100% free for you! It will be automatically added to your account.


Thank you for being active on the Discord chat, joining the quarterly livestreams, and for all your awesome reviews!

You can see some of the reviews from the first season of the course on the left. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


The Galactic Course is an ever-growing platform and we take note of each person's feedback.


Current members, do not ever hesitate to reach out to us on the Discord chat if you'd like us to add or edit any of the content in the course if you believe it would make it even better!



You can see the full list of reviews, along with the course curriculum on the Galactic Course page!






Like we said, Season 2 of the Galactic Course is all about Milky Way astrophotography!


Season 2 has the same easy-to-follow structure as the 1st season, and is divided into two sections, beginner and advanced.


The image below is one of the types of pictures you can expect to get when completing the Advanced section of this Milky Way course. It shows the bright Milky Way band rising over a beautiful Joshua Tree.


Milky Way captured during Season 2 of the Galactic Course

NGC 6820 Emission Nebula in Vulpecula astrophotography



Season 2 - What's Included?


Season 2 comes with new content and new perks! 🥳


Milky Way Astrophotography Course beginner section with a tripod

The first half of the season covers Milky Way photography for complete beginners.


If you've never attempted capturing the Milky Way before, then this is the perfect way to get your feet in the water!


We go over what the Milky Way actually is, when is the best time to see it, how to find a good location out of the city, some basic equipment we recommend, how to set everything up on the field, and how to actually capture your first ever picture of the Milky Way band!


This beginner section is truly meant for complete beginners, so we made sure to keep everything simple to keep you engaged and motivated.


By the end of this section, a complete beginner should be ready to tackle the advanced section of the course!




Milky Way Astrophotography Course advanced section with a star tracker

In the advanced section, we invest in a small star tracker, use a different camera and lens than in the beginner section, as well as different accessories.


We give you tips to make your life easier, walk you through the best settings to use, and teach you how to pick an exciting foreground.


You will learn how to stack and process the Milky Way band, as well as how to create a composite image using several tools.


Last but not least, we share how you can get a print of your work to hang in your home as we did in the first season!


This second section of Season 2 will teach you advanced techniques to get the absolute best out of your Milky Way shots. Because of how we structured this season, we believe that a complete beginner can easily achieve incredible results in little time after going through both the beginner and advanced sections.




Milky Way Astrophotography online course Milky Way arch
Another image you will learn to take in Season 2!


Course Curriculum

Table of Contents:


Season 2 | Milky Way Photography




Chapter 1: Introduction

  • Welcome to Season 2!

  • Table of Contents

  • What is the Milky Way, and Why Photograph it?

  • Survey: Your Current Milky Way Photography Skills


Chapter 2: Planning our Shot

  • Introduction

  • The best Time to Image the Milky Way

  • The Best Locations to Photograph the Milky Way and Escaping Light Pollution

  • Using SkySafari to Plan our Shot

  • Useful Apps for Milky Way Photography

  • PhotoPills Walkthrough

  • Planning Our Shot - Summary

Chapter 3: Beginner Milky Way Photography: Equipment

  • Introduction

  • The Camera: Canon 7D Mark II

  • The Tripod: Orion Paragon XHD Heavy Duty

  • Image Acquisition: Wired Intervalometer

  • The Lens: Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8

  • Other Accessories: SD card / Battery pack

  • Beginner Equipment - Summary

Chapter 4: Beginner Milky Way Photography: Camera Settings

  • Introduction

  • Camera Navigation: Canon 7D Mark II

  • The "500 Rule"

  • Camera Settings

  • Switching the Lens to Manual mode

  • Activating BULB mode on the Camera

  • Camera Settings - Summary


Chapter 5: Beginner Milky Way Photography: Photographing the Milky Way

  • Introduction

  • Arriving on Location

  • Setting up the Equipment

  • Focusing the lens

  • Framing the Milky Way and Taking some Test Shots

  • Taking images of the Milky Way

  • Photographing the Milky Way - Summary


Chapter 6: Beginner Milky Way Photography: Processing

  • Introduction

  • Download our Raw Image!

  • Enhancing our image using Lightroom

  • Beginner Processing - Summary


Chapter 7: Advanced Milky Way Photography: Equipment

  • Introduction

  • The Camera: Canon Ra

  • The Lens: Samyang XP 14mm f/2.4

  • The Tripod: Radian Carbon Fiber Tripod

  • The Star Tracker: Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Pro

  • Accessories: SD Card and Wireless Intervalometer

  • Advanced Equipment - Summary


Chapter 8: Advanced Milky Way Photography: Camera Settings

  • Introduction

  • Camera Navigation: Canon Ra

  • The "NPF Rule"

  • Camera Settings

  • Switching the Lens to Manual Mode

  • Activating BULB mode on the Camera

  • Camera Settings - Summary


Chapter 9: Advanced Milky Way Photography: Photographing the Milky Way

  • Introduction

  • Scouting for Foregrounds during Daytime

  • Setting Up the Equipment and Balancing

  • Polar Aligning the Star Tracker

  • Focusing, Framing, and Taking a Test Shot

  • Understanding the Histogram

  • Tracker OFF: Capturing the Foreground

  • Tracker ON: Capturing the Milky Way

  • Photographing the Milky Way - Summary

  • Extra - How to Make a Miky Way Arch Panorama


Chapter 10: Advanced Milky Way Photography: Processing

  • Introduction

  • Transferring and Organizing the Files

  • Download our Raw Files!

  • Stacking the Milky Way using PixInsight

  • Processing the Milky Way using PixInsight

  • Adding a Foreground using Photoshop

  • Milky Way Processing - Summary


Chapter 11: Hanging your Art

  • Introduction

  • Purchasing a Print and Finding a Custom Frame

  • Hanging your Work

  • Galactic Course Season 2 Conclusion

  • Survey - Season 2



Final Thoughts

We can't wait to welcome new members to the Galactic Course, and we also can't wait for the current members to enjoy the new content and perks.


If you need more information about the course, make sure to check out the main Galactic Course page where we have a ton of information listed.


Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stay up to date with our work!


Clear Skies,

Galactic Hunter






Galactic Hunter Astrophotography books

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