If you’ve got a stargazing fan on your holiday gift-giving list and you’re considering a telescope for that special someone, even if that someone is you, I want you to buy right and buy smart.

I must admit that I spend more time looking at the stars and other celestial objects with the aid of a camera than I do with my naked eye. I have written a couple of columns about cameras and filters, ...

I took my first astrophoto during the 1986 visit of Halley’s Comet. I figured it couldn’t be too difficult, so I bought a few items, put high ASA film in the camera, aimed at my target, and exposed ...