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

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

Season 2 - What's Included?
Season 2 comes with new content and new perks! 🥳

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!

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.

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.
Clear Skies,
Galactic Hunter
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