OK so I have a digital camera and plan on getting one of those attachments that hooks up over the telescope's eyepiece.  I investigated whether one of those cords were available to take the picture (like on the normal 35 mm cameras)  so I wouldn't have to touch the camera and cause it to shake.  Turns out those cords aren't available for a regular digital camera.

My question comes to exposure.  I went to a Ritz Camera and the guy told me that with a digital camera I don't have to worry about exposure time when astroimaging and that I can set the camera to snap the picture "X" seconds after I push the button. 

My question on exposure arises b/c when I see these amatuer astrophotos, they usually mention an exposure time of anywhere from a minute on up.  So I was confused on how I can set the exposure to say, 2 minutes, but at the same time have the camera take the picture, say 10 seconds, after I push the button?

My main targets for astroimaging are the moon and planets for now since I am new.

Everything depends on what camera you have.

You need a few basic manual controls. Focus, ISO, and exposure speed.

Many P&S digitals have a means for a timed release of the shutter, included for when a person wants to get into the picture.

Information should be in your manual. 

What kind of camera do you have..

Most any camera, digital or even many 35mm SLR's, have a time delay for the shutter, this is meant to allow the picture taker to get in the picture also.. They are anywhere from 10 to a 30 second delay..
On most Point and shoot digital camera's that would be set up through the menu functions.  With a DSLR such as the Canon, that can be set with one of the buttons on the back of the camera body.
If your camera is a DSLR they should have a remote switch available for it. Many also have the ability to interface with a computer such as a Laptop that can be taken outside with you. There is software that can control the camera, Delay, ISO, exposure, and number of exposures in a sequence. I don't know of too many point and shoot digital cameras that have the same.  

For a little more information on the different astrophotography methods and the equipment requirements please read the following.
http://cs.astronomy.com/asycs/forums/t/19319.aspx 

Have A Nice _________

Trial and Error!

AFocal with a Point and Shoot takes a lot of trial and error.. Generally speaking the moon, depending on the amount of illumination about 1/250th of a second is plenty. However that also depends on the telescope, the ISO and f/stop  or exposure compenstation or sensativity setting of the camera..  Saturn and Jupiter are about the same or slightly slower for single exposure shots. Too long and it doesn't take much to over-expose them.  

You'll be limited to afocal lunar and planetary photos only with the Nikon Coolpix camera. My wife has a CoolPix and you can set it for delayed shooting. It's in the setup menu.

Have you considered a web cam?  You'll need a laptop of course, however, it's a great alternative to a dedicated CCD camera when it comes to planetary and lunar imaging.

Have A Nice ___________ 

I thought someone mentioned on here that I can also just take a video of the object and then "stack" the image on photo software?

Does this sound familiar?

 You will need to get the free-ware program Registax. And mount the camera with one of the mounting fixtures widely available for these small digital cameras. The more accurate your scope tracks the better your results will be.

stones3131:

I thought someone mentioned on here that I can also just take a video of the object and then "stack" the image on photo software?

 

Does this sound familiar?

Yes you can.  But! if yours saves your videos in anything other than AVI files you will also need a little freeware program called Rad Video Tools to covert yours to AVI's.  Then you can open the AVI using Registax and stack the individual frames into one image..

Web Cam'ing the moon and planets uses the same method. You capture the video with a web cam such as the popular Phillips SPC900NC(ToUcam Pro's), then stack the good frames into one good image.

Whatever you use, a Digital point and shoot or web cam, you don't want to take any thing longer than about 90 seconds of video on Jupiter or Saturn. If you go too long you will get motion blur because those planets rotate quite fast. 

Have A Nice _________