Welcome to my astronomy and astrophotography blog - start here

 Welcome to UnderSouthWestSkies

Hello. Thanks for stopping by.

UnderSouthWestSkies is my little corner of the internet where I share my journey into astronomy and astrophotography from here in the South West of the UK. It’s a place for learning, experimenting, and enjoying the night sky - without pressure, perfectionism, or the feeling that we need the latest kit to get started.

I created this blog to document what I’m learning, celebrate the small wins, and hopefully make the hobby feel a bit more approachable for anyone who’s curious about it. If you’re new to astrophotography, returning after a break, or simply enjoy following someone else’s progress, you’re very welcome here.

If you would like to go straight to the latest posts then click this link: https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/

 If you want to learn more about me, the aims of this blog and how I organise it to help both you and me, then read on. You will also find direct links further down to what I call "my astronomy fundamental pillars posts" and also "my astrophotography fundamental pillars posts" too. 

NGC 1499 The California Nebula 

A Bit About Me

I’m Steve - an enthusiastic amateur astronomer and astrophotographer who rediscovered the night sky later in life and decided to dive in properly. I’m no expert, and that’s exactly why I write: everything here comes from real experience, trial and error, and the excitement of figuring things out one step at a time.

If you’d like to get to know the story behind the blog, these three introductory posts are a great place to start:

• Welcome to My New Astronomy/Astrophotography Blog https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/01/welcome-to-my-new-astronomyastrophotogr.html
• A Little More About Me and Why I Am Interested in Astronomy https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/01/a-little-more-about-me-and-why-i-am-in.html
• What Is the Aim and Purpose of My New Blog? https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/01/what-is-aim-and-purpose-of-my-new.html

 

IC 1318 sadr Region 

What Is This Blog All About?

UnderSouthWestSkies has a few simple aims:

• To share my learning journey in a clear, honest, and encouraging way
• To show what’s possible with modest equipment and realistic expectations
• To help beginners feel less overwhelmed by the jargon and complexity
• To explore the night sky from the South West UK and celebrate what we can see from here
• To build a friendly, practical resource for all, that grows over time

You’ll find imaging sessions, reflections, experiments, equipment notes, and plenty of posts about what I’m trying, what’s working, and what I’m still figuring out.

 

How the Blog Is Organised

As the blog grows, I want it to stay easy to navigate. To help with that, I’ve put together a simple guide that explains how everything is arranged and how to find things quickly:

• Want to Find Something Quickly on My Blog? https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/12/want-to-find-something-quickly-on-my.html

You’ll also see labels, categories, and series developing over time so you can follow particular themes - whether that’s equipment, observing sessions, learning logs, or location-based posts.

 

Tracked, stacked and blended composite photo of milky way skies above the Broken Spur Motel, Torrey, Utah

Where to Begin?

If you’re new here, I’d recommend either starting with the three introductory posts found at the top of this post - they set the scene for what this blog is, why I started it, and what I hope to achieve – OR – you start with the ‘want to find something quickly on my blog’ page – again - found at the top of this post - that page gives you a good overview of the content on the entire blog.  Here you can feel free to explore the latest posts, browse by category, or simply follow whatever catches your interest.

 Astronomy fundamental pillar blogs: 

Beginners guide to buying your first telescope - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/01/beginners-guide-to-buying-your-first.html

Beginner's guide to different types of telescope - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/01/my-beginners-guide-to-what-different.html

Beginner's guide to choosing a mount for your telescope - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/01/my-beginners-guide-to-choosing-mount.html

Beginner's guide to what types of accessories you might need for your first telescope - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/01/beginners-guide-to-accessories-you.html

Beginner's guide to choosing eyepieces for your telescope - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/01/beginners-guides-to-choosing-eyepieces.html

Astrophotography fundamental pillar blogs: 

Beginner's guide to using a GoPro for astrophotography - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/02/using-gopro-for-night-time-imaging-and.html

Beginner's guide to taking your first milky way image - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/02/beginners-guide-to-taking-your-first.html

Beginner's guide to using autoguiding - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/02/beginners-guide-to-using-autoguiding.html

Beginner's guide to taking callibration frames - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/06/

Beginner's guide to setting up and using the Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i wifi tracker for the first time - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/02/beginners-guide-on-how-to-set-up-and.html

Beginner's guide to using sequator - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/02/

Beginner's guide to a workflow for SIRIL version 1.4 - https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/12/beginner-tutorial-workflow-for-using.html

This blog is a journey, and I’m glad to have you along for the ride. I hope you find something useful.  Please do drop me a comment, introduce yourself, proffer some advice and tips relating to a particular post.

Steve