Night time photos are some of my favorites, especially aurora photos. I visit
www.spaceweather.com at least once a day, hoping for some activity. Consumer cameras do not have anywhere near the dynamic light sensitivity of the human eye so any night shots have to be exposed for at least several seconds. After lots of practice I can finally balance ISO, F and exposure for the best shot. Higher ISO = grainier picture but more light.
You can use the flash with long exposures, usually to highlight something in the foreground then long exposure to allow background to show up. Tripods are a must!
Here's a few aurora shots from my yard:
Looking straight up at the zenith:
Ursa Major:
Facing north:
I'd really like to get a Canon 20Da (
http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/astro/index-e.html ) but I don't think I can bring myself to cough up the dough!