458 replies to this topic

[patindaytona]

If the focus is correct on telescope, should it still be a possiblity to have to do re-focusing once the iphone is in place?

[Mazerski]

I’m still not convinced additional focusing is required. Stars look sharp then move phone to NV eyepiece and stars May look like blobs at first but the phone sharpens the view by itself. I’ve tried additional focusing but it seems the phone handling it provides better results. I’m just holding the phone, no phone adapter ( I had one but it was too frustrating to use and it’s easier to just hold iphone (at 0 sec exposure)).

[GeezerGazer]

NV, Nikon 135 manual lens, 6.5nm HS filter, iPhone 12 ProMax from a Bortle 1-2 on the CA/NV border using AstroShader camera app, 1s exp/aligned & stacked in the app for 100s of IC 1396 containing the Elephant Trunk and several dark nebulae.  HAZ 31 mount.  

 

Click on image to see detail.

 

Edited by GeezerGazer, 23 July 2023 - 02:44 PM.

[GeezerGazer]

This is also IC 1396, but taken with a Nikon 300mm lens, otherwise same system as above, taken the same night, showing a little more detail of the Elephant's Trunk and the dark Barnard nebulae.  Post processing on both images, to crop, reduce brightness and saturation.  The outer edge aberration is from color banding in the original TIFF image; AstroShadr hasn't quite eliminated that issue, and there is a faint line from a satellite that passed through during the exposure.  

 

Click on image to open for detail

 

Edited by GeezerGazer, 23 July 2023 - 02:41 PM.

[Speedy1985]

NV, Nikon 135 manual lens, 6.5nm HS filter, iPhone 12 ProMax from a Bortle 1-2 on the CA/NV border using AstroShader camera app, 1s exp/aligned & stacked in the app for 100s of IC 1396 containing the Elephant Trunk and several dark nebulae.  HAZ 31 mount.  

 

Click on image to see detail.

 

IMG_1417.JPG

This is also IC 1396, but taken with a Nikon 300mm lens, otherwise same system as above, taken the same night, showing a little more detail of the Elephant's Trunk and the dark Barnard nebulae.  Post processing on both images, to crop, reduce brightness and saturation.  

 

Click on image to open for detail

 

IMG_1372.JPG

Beautiful as always Ray! What is it that photobombed the second shot, satellite?

[GeezerGazer]

Beautiful as always Ray! What is it that photobombed the second shot, satellite?

Yup! 

[GeezerGazer]

Nikon 300 again, for the Cat's Paw, same system and exposure times.  Contrast increase a little in post.  

 

Click to open

 

Edited by GeezerGazer, 23 July 2023 - 02:50 PM.

[GeezerGazer]

Nikon 135 used for the Crescent and top end of the Great Divide in Gamma Cygni, minor post to reduce brightness.  

 

AstroShadr has become my main camera app for iPhone photos, greatly improving resolution and contrast.  And, I've been very pleased using the HAZ31 mount with a one-star alignment for GoTo and tracking... having upgraded from the iOptron AZMP.  The camera lenses mounted to the HAZ31 is a perfect match with no counterweights... very convenient and compact, although still a straight through design.  I took ~50 images using 3 of my camera lenses that night... they were all satisfactory.  

 

Click to open

 

[GeezerGazer]

Last one... using the N50, for the NAN and Gamma Cygni complex (20° FoV).  Same settings; minor post.  I probably will close the aperture one stop next time for a cleaner image. 

 

Click to open

 

Edited by GeezerGazer, 23 July 2023 - 03:18 PM.

[vineyard]

Great images - thanks for posting those.  Will have to look at AstroShadr - I find the NightCap UX too non-intuitive unless you use it regularly.

[GeezerGazer]

Cederblad 214, AKA: Sh2-171 (the brighter area), and NGC 7822 (the fainter arch) seem to make up the well known Cosmic Question Mark, but there is debate about the makeup because of the original descriptions of these objects.  Nonetheless, it is an interesting, star forming region in Cepheus.  

 

I took this first image in 2019, using a Nikon 300 lens at 11x, with a 7nm filter, NV, and an iPhone 6+ with NightCap in longe exposure mode, which turned out OK.  Last night I rephotographed the two subjects for better detail at 26x, see below.  During the last 6 yrs, lots of improvements have been made in phone cameras and the apps that are available to take these images.  

 

 

This image was taken through an 8" f:4 Newt with 7nm filter at 26x using NV and an iPhone 12, with AstroShadr app, taking and stacking 60/3s exposures.  The original image was 63 MB, compress here to 83 KB: 

 

 

The fainter segment, thought to be NGC 7822, was taken using the same optics and iPhone camera settings as the previous image:

 

 

[WheezyGod]

Cederblad 214, AKA: Sh2-171 (the brighter area), and NGC 7822 (the fainter arch) seem to make up the well known Cosmic Question Mark, but there is debate about the makeup because of the original descriptions of these objects. Nonetheless, it is an interesting, star forming region in Cepheus.

I took this first image in 2019, using a Nikon 300 lens at 11x, with a 7nm filter, NV, and an iPhone 6+ with NightCap in longe exposure mode, which turned out OK. Last night I rephotographed the two subjects for better detail at 26x, see below. During the last 6 yrs, lots of improvements have been made in phone cameras and the apps that are available to take these images.

IMG_5874.JPG

This image was taken through an 8" f:4 Newt with 7nm filter at 26x using NV and an iPhone 12, with AstroShadr app, taking and stacking 60/3s exposures. The original image was 63 MB, compress here to 83 KB:

IMG_1740.jpeg

The fainter segment, thought to be NGC 7822, was taken using the same optics and iPhone camera settings as the previous image:

IMG_1744.jpeg

Yes I really enjoyed that object several weeks ago. CED214 kind of looks like an elephant if you flip it. At least it did when I had taken a photo.

Glad to see someone like yourself enjoying and photographing it as well. There’s so many photos of the top objects everywhere, but far less of objects like these which are nice to see to breakup the redundancy of objects photographed over and over again like M42 in a few months.

[dalbert02]

First attempt.  Orion Nebula.  Tele Vue 85, Nagler 22, AGM white phosphor, iPhone12.

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[GeezerGazer]

This is a new one for me and I don't think I've ever seen a photo of it from a phone, even with NV.  I've attempted it twice before in 2022 and 2021, but failed to see anything except the brightest little part of the longer arm.  I was at a green zone site last night (Bortle 4-5) and used the NVD at 1x (Envis lens) for this shot of the Eridanus Loop, ISO 227, a stack of 40, 15 second exposures.  This should take 600 seconds, but it actually took just 120 seconds because the iPhone 15 is working some kind of magic to break the laws of physics.  It fires off 5 images per second instead of one.  The loop is nearly 30° tall, and its surface brightness extremely low.  I'll photograph it again, now that I know I can capture it.  Filter used was a 3.5nm High Speed from Baader, front mounted on the Envis.  The image was cropped to a square, made B&W, brightness was reduced and contrast slightly increased in post on the phone.  You should be able to click on this image to open it for better resolution.  

Ray

 

[GeezerGazer]

I also took this photo, annotated with the Sharpless rich area near the Monkey Head nebula, centered, using a Nikkor 135mm lens on the NVD (5x).  Taken in AstroShader on iPhone 15 ProMax, ISO 94, a stack of 40, 8 second exposures which actually took 60 seconds of total exposure.  

 

[WheezyGod]

Using the same app as Geezer also with an iPhone 15Promax I took these yesterday.

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[WheezyGod]

3 more.

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[GOLGO13]

Those look great Wheezy

[GeezerGazer]

Those look great Wheezy

I agree, especially since they were taken from a non-tracking mount!  These photos were not possible 6 months ago.  Technology keeps improving and so do the skills that are needed to use it.  I applaud Wheezy for staying with his effort to take full advantage of AstroShader camera app.

 

Below is a good comparison example of how things have changed in the past year.  The photo on the left was taken in NightCap camera app with my iPhone 12 ProMax in 2022, using my 8" Newt at f:2.8 (.73x reducer) with NV and a 7nm filter.  In Sept 2023, I took the photo on the right, using the same optics, filter and phone, but with AstroShader camera app.  Both were taken from a tracking mount.

 

The AstroShader photo shows a lot more fine detail.  This difference is representative of my overall experience using NightCap and AstroShader camera apps... AstroShader provides the opportunity to collect more photons over a longer period of time for much better image detail.  The settings difference is substantial between these photos.  In NightCap, increasing averaging time beyond a certain point, usually does not result in more detail.  

 

From a non-tracking mount, the NightCap image would not be possible.  But with AstroShader, it's possible to get the excellent images that Wheezy has taken... because AstroShader aligns and stacks images.  Exposure time is limited from a non-tracking mount, but Wheezy has decreased the exposure time to below a second, while AstroShader has aligned and stacked many images.  It's new technology that allows for better images, whether you have a tracking mount or not.  

 

The NightCap image (Left) was taken at ISO 1250, with 20 one-second exposures averaged.  

The AstroShader image ® was taken at ISO 550, with 100 three-second exposures averaged. 

 

Overall, if you use an iPhone for NV Phonetography or doing AP without NV, I recommend AstroShader camera app... and, it keeps improving with each new version.  It's had 10 revisions in the past 12 months.  

Ray

 

Click on the photo to open for greater detail.  

Edited by GeezerGazer, 20 November 2023 - 03:39 PM.

[WheezyGod]

I agree, especially since they were taken from a non-tracking mount! These photos were not possible 6 months ago. Technology keeps improving and so do the skills that are needed to use it. I applaud Wheezy for staying with his effort to take full advantage of AstroShader camera app.

Below is a good comparison example of how things have changed in the past year. The photo on the left was taken in NightCap camera app with my iPhone 12 ProMax in 2022, using my 8" Newt at f:2.8 (.73x reducer) with NV and a 7nm filter. In Sept 2023, I took the photo on the right, using the same optics, filter and phone, but with AstroShader camera app. Both were taken from a tracking mount.

The AstroShader photo shows a lot more fine detail. This difference is representative of my overall experience using NightCap and AstroShader camera apps... AstroShader provides the opportunity to collect more photons over a longer period of time for much better image detail. The settings difference is substantial between these photos. In NightCap, increasing averaging time beyond a certain point, usually does not result in more detail.

From a non-tracking mount, the NightCap image would not be possible. But with AstroShader, it's possible to get the excellent images that Wheezy has taken... because AstroShader aligns and stacks images. Exposure time is limited from a non-tracking mount, but Wheezy has decreased the exposure time to below a second, while AstroShader has aligned and stacked many images. It's new technology that allows for better images, whether you have a tracking mount or not.

The NightCap image (Left) was taken at ISO 1250, with 20 one-second exposures averaged.
The AstroShader image ® was taken at ISO 550, with 100 three-second exposures averaged.

Overall, if you use an iPhone for NV Phonetography or doing AP without NV, I recommend AstroShader camera app... and, it keeps improving with each new version. It's had 10 revisions in the past 12 months.
Ray

Click on the photo to open for greater detail.
Screenshot 2023-11-20 at 11.53.55 AM.jpeg

Wow yes that is a huge difference and also shows how more exposure can make a major difference as well!

I think I’m at the point where I don’t want to take any longer than 2min to photograph something. Takes too much away from the experience of viewing objects live. Plus when I go back to my scope it takes a few seconds to get over some initial disappointment that my views don’t look quite as good live.

Not to get too sidetracked, but I didn’t realize the advancements EAA has made. Someone at my club site was seeing the flame and horsehead nebulas after 90 seconds with his $5k setup with a similar brightness/contrast as what I see live with NV. Of course his also had color and less noise. Not that I’m thinking of switching to EAA since it’s not live, and comes with some potential setup headaches but just interesting to see how far it’s come in comparison. I always thought EAA setups needed 10-20min to see what we see live. Maybe that’s the case with lower end/older setups.

[lessrahkmin]

NGC 253 aka the Sculptor Galaxy. Another early effort (2018) that will get revisited this year.

So,  i am trying to get an idea from these photos to see what one would actually see in the eyepiece with NV. But it appears you all are using stacking or exposures to get these photos,  which is astrophotography/eaa-ish. Jeff, from this photo that is quoted, can you see that much detail in the eyepiece without stacking? I just want to have the right expectations.  

[Gavster]

So,  i am trying to get an idea from these photos to see what one would actually see in the eyepiece with NV. But it appears you all are using stacking or exposures to get these photos,  which is astrophotography/eaa-ish. Jeff, from this photo that is quoted, can you see that much detail in the eyepiece without stacking? I just want to have the right expectations.  

For a better idea of actual live views you could look at nv videos rather than longer exposure stills,

eg

https://youtu.be/N0w...E7JzFbAfFCvGqfx

https://youtu.be/GNs...EyHgjKuhFjxf3j5
https://youtu.be/rZG...NlgmiosbxnbHr3D

[GeezerGazer]

Yes, long exposure still photos, even from a phone, are no longer representative of the live NV view.  That's OK for me because I look for detail in the photos that cannot be seen visually.  And photos help me overall because my vision is not as good as it once was... I can see more at the computer screen than I can at the NV ocular and I like the very uncomplicated aspect of using my phone for imaging.  I think Gavin's videos are quite representative of the live view from a first class NV optical system from his observing site which has a fairly high SQM (Sky Quality Meter reading)... one that I'd classify at about a Bortle 4 (Green on the LP map), but perhaps even a Bortle 3 (blue) in one direction.  

 

Observing conditions remain a key component of good NV visual or photographic results.  So to compare results seen here with your observing conditions, you should always consider what sky conditions were present when photos or video were taken.  I don't observe from home for that very reason... home is a Bortle 7-8 (Red zone on the LP map) whereas my observing site is 40 miles away, a Bortle 4-5 (Green zone).  In post 389 above, there is a washed out photo of the Eridanus Loop that I took from my Green zone site... I can neither see nor photograph the very faint loop from home using the exact same optics/filters.  From a darker site, the loop would show up better with more contrast.  Observing conditions remain a key factor, even with NV.  

Ray

Edited by GeezerGazer, 22 November 2023 - 02:38 PM.

[WheezyGod]

Posting these as a reference for a presentation.

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[25585]

3 more.

But what are they, and which is north, south, east and west?