Andrew Symes’ imaging setup.
Yes, that’s Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy shot with an iPhone!
Posted on 01/28/2015 12:09:31 PM PST by BenLurkin
Got a smartphone and a telescope?
It’s a sight now common at many star parties. Frequently, you see folks roaming through the darkness, illuminated smartphone aimed skyward. Certainly, the wealth of free planetarium apps has done lots to kindle a renewed interest in the night sky.
Inevitably, after peering through the eyepiece of a telescope, the question then arises:
“Can I get a picture of that with my phone?”
The short answer is yes, with a little skill and patience.
Now simply aiming a camera at the eyepiece of a telescope — known as afocal astrophotography — and shooting without removing the camera lens and physically coupling it to the telescope is a tricky balancing act. Back in the olden days, the Moon and perhaps the brighter planets were the only bright target within bounds of afocal film photographers, and only then after a lengthy set of estimations to hit the correct focal length. The advent of digital cameras and ‘live preview’ means that you can now simply aim, shoot, and throw away or delete anything off center or out of focus. Digital ‘film’ is cheap, and most folks simply use trial and error to get the ‘keepers’. The Moon is an especially bright and easy target for beginners to practice on.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
Yes, that’s Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy shot with an iPhone!
“iPhone Astrophotography: How to Take Amazing Images of the Sky with Your Smartphone Tonight!”
Not a problem if you put that $1200 do-hickey on the front of it.
Now that you mention it....yeah, it does.
Iphones dont have any special abilities here. You will need an ISO setting that most phones cant achieve, and shutter settings that standard phone CCDs cant handle.
This requires a decent telescope, and multiple (dozens)of photographs that you then have to “stack” and do all types of editing tricks using programs like Registax (I’ve used that one for years) and something like Photoshop to fix other details.
This can be done with any smartphone or a really good webcam. I never liked the results, so Ive stuck to using a T-Mount with a regular DSLR.
GoTo scopes are for losers and diaper babies! :D
Try doing that with a Newt without a clockdrive...then you are doing something.
(GoTo free forever!)
Thanks BenLurkin, extra to APoD.
That’s awesome!!
Anytime I’ve aimed my phone at the sky, I’ve gotten TERRIBLE results. Need to get me a good Telescope. What kind of setup do you have, and what’s the cost?(if you don’t mind me asking)
Celestron is the way to go, but there are other decent brands. Get a Newtonian reflector, getting best bang for buck, although colors might be washed out a bit, especially if you let it dusty. This Celesteon there is a Shmidt Cassegrain combining lens refraction with mirror reflectors, which is pretty much the best set up. Meade makes similar Shmidt Katsutov but I am not sure what their quality is like nowadays. This set up is used in long range scopes on military aircrafts.
There are other specialty brands, but Meade and Celestron are the most popular for professionals.
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