It sounds like something you'd have to be a pro to attempt, but taking pictures of the heavens is easy to do with the even the simplest of set-ups.
You'll Need:
- A digital camera that lets you control the exposure and focus settings manually.
- A telescope
- A camera mount for the telescope
- A tripod
Pick a spot:
The first thing you'll need to do is pick a prime location. City lights, airports and other brightly lit 
areas on the ground cause what's known as light pollution. This shows up as bright blotches in your photos and can obscure the night sky.
Pick a spot far away from the city, preferably in the mountains, in the desert or in a rural area.
Check with your local astronomy group (almost all of them are online) for their recommendations. Also, local groups often host "star parties" at these spots. You'll meet a lot of new people and gain a lot of valuable knowledge if you attend one.
Trails or not:
Stars are very dim, so to photograph the night sky, you're going to have to keep your camera's shutter open for several minutes. Of course, the rotation of the Earth causes the stars to appear to move in the sky. Leaving the shutter open on a stationary camera is going to result in each star leaving a trail behind it.
This isn't exactly undesirable - trails can be beautiful, and some people prefer them in their astronomy photos. Also, you can take star-trail photos without any special equipment.
But for super sharp pictures of stars, especially in close-ups, you'll need to get an equatorial 
mount and a motor drive. The equatorial mount is designed so one axis parallels the sky's rotation, making it easier to track celestial objects as they rotate with the sky. The motor drive is a small motor that slowly rotates your telescope and camera set-up to match the rotation of the Earth, keeping the two in line and producing perfectly sharp photos with no motion artifacts.
If you've got a telescope with a computerized mount, you've already got an equatorial mount and motor drive.
(If you're shooting star trails, try pointing your camera at Polaris, the north star. It hardly "moves" as the Earth rotates, and all other stars will appear to spin around it.)
Mount your camera to a telescope:
You don't need to attach your camera to a telescope to take star photos. Wide-field sky images work just fine with your camera's lens. But if you want to photograph the moon or planets, you'll need to mount your camera to a telescope. To do this, you'll need a piece of equipment called a camera mount. This physically attaches your camera to the telescope's eye piece. Beginner's models start at under $100, but advanced models can be vastly more expensive.
Take the best shot:
Mount your camera, set the aperture to open all the way, set the focus to infinity (otherwise known as an "afocal" setting) and hold the shutter open for several minutes. Brighter objects, like comets, will only require 2 to 10 minutes. Nebulae and distant galaxies may require 20-30 minute exposures.
Don't touch any part of your rig -- the camera, tripod or telescope -- while the shutter is open. Using a bulb or remote shutter can help minimize vibration. You can hold a piece of cardboard (or similar) in front of the lens when you trip the shutter. So that you minimize any vibration coming from the shutter mechanism. Then, pull it away when the camera "settles". Also, be careful not to use coast flashlights, lighters or any light source anywhere near your rig while taking a picture.
If you have a Canon camera, try the CHDK firmware hack, which will allow you to leave the shutter open for extended periods of time.
Some cameras also have the option to lock the reflex mirror before shooting. This procedure will reduce the camera vibration and increase the sharpness of your photo.
How to shoot meteors:
Taking photographs of meteors is tricky, but not impossible: It just takes luck and patience. First, pick a night when a meteor shower is likely to be peaking. Mount your camera on a tripod and aim it at a fixed point in the sky as described above. Pick your target based on the meteor shower: For instance, the Perseids, which usually peak in mid-August, appear to come from the constellation Perseus. Make sure the moon isn't in your shot, since it's so bright it will drown out the stars and meteors.
You don't need a telescope, and you should set your lens for a wide field of view. Keep the shutter open for 2 to 10 minutes. If you're lucky, one or more meteors will cross the camera's field of view during that time. If not, try again and again!
(If you point the camera at the North Star, meteors will appear as bright lines streaking across the frame. If you point the camera at the place where the meteor shower is centered, meteors should appear as lines radiating out from the middle of the frame.)
Practice!
One of the advantages of digital photography is that you can practice all you want at no real cost, 
so shoot as much as you can with as many different settings as your camera allows until you achieve good results.
Keep a log. Keep a log of the objects you shoot along with notes on cloud cover, light pollution, etc. Most digital cameras attach exposure information to the image files themselves through a mechanism called EXIF. You can view this information (in Windows) by right-clicking the file, selecting "Properties" and then opening the "Summary" tab. This information is useful in reviewing your shots and planning your next ones.
Start with the moon. It's big and it's bright, making it easy to photograph, even in areas with moderate light pollution. Also, it's remarkably ripe with features that look amazing in high resolution. You'll look like you know what you're doing a lot faster if you start there.
High Resolution Paint Blotches Brushes
