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White light eclipse time lapse with Seestar S50

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#1 Special Ed

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Posted 16 April 2024 - 03:13 PM

I wanted to try a time lapse with the Seestar during the eclipse but I didn't want to be distracted from watching the eclipse, so the Seestar's automatic features seemed to be the ticket.  I've never done a time lapse and I didn't get a chance to practice much, so the sequence is rough.  It took a shot every 20 seconds.  Before totality it was a little windy and you can see where the scope was blowing around a little.

 

I wasn't hovering over the screen the whole time--too busy looking through my PST and sharing the view with others--so I had to play catch up a couple of times when the exposure needed to be adjusted (the Seestar is smart, but not that smart, apparently).

 

I had made a filter with some Baader AstroSolar film because I didn't like the filter that came with the scope.  I did not take off the filter during totality because it can be hard to take off and I wanted to spend the 4 minutes watching the Sun, not fooling around with gear.  Consequently, the little scope lost track of the Sun during totality and I had to make sure it reacquired and centered the Sun so it could track it through 4th contact.

 

The Seestar's battery has a 6 hour charge, which would have been plenty for the eclipse, except that I got it out about three hours before first contact to make sure everything was working properly.  I was going to shut down to save the battery until the eclipse began, but folks were so interested in the scope that I had to keep it going.  By about 30 minutes before fourth contact, the battery was down to 13%.  I had brought a 25 foot extension cord with me, but it wouldn't reach to plug the scope into power.  My son had a 25 foot cord with him and the two of them together were about 3 feet short.  Some people, trying to be helpful, suggested I move the scope. lol.gif   Long story short--I finished the time lapse with 1% left on the battery. cool.gif   And the Seestar's wifi range is supposed to be 30 feet, but now I know it's at least 53 feet. grin.gif

 

Here it is:

 

https://youtu.be/kgW4UF0nv1Y


Edited by Special Ed, 16 April 2024 - 03:16 PM.

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#2 chvvkumar

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Posted 16 April 2024 - 06:02 PM

I wanted to try a time lapse with the Seestar during the eclipse but I didn't want to be distracted from watching the eclipse, so the Seestar's automatic features seemed to be the ticket.  I've never done a time lapse and I didn't get a chance to practice much, so the sequence is rough.  It took a shot every 20 seconds.  Before totality it was a little windy and you can see where the scope was blowing around a little.

 

I wasn't hovering over the screen the whole time--too busy looking through my PST and sharing the view with others--so I had to play catch up a couple of times when the exposure needed to be adjusted (the Seestar is smart, but not that smart, apparently).

 

I had made a filter with some Baader AstroSolar film because I didn't like the filter that came with the scope.  I did not take off the filter during totality because it can be hard to take off and I wanted to spend the 4 minutes watching the Sun, not fooling around with gear.  Consequently, the little scope lost track of the Sun during totality and I had to make sure it reacquired and centered the Sun so it could track it through 4th contact.

 

The Seestar's battery has a 6 hour charge, which would have been plenty for the eclipse, except that I got it out about three hours before first contact to make sure everything was working properly.  I was going to shut down to save the battery until the eclipse began, but folks were so interested in the scope that I had to keep it going.  By about 30 minutes before fourth contact, the battery was down to 13%.  I had brought a 25 foot extension cord with me, but it wouldn't reach to plug the scope into power.  My son had a 25 foot cord with him and the two of them together were about 3 feet short.  Some people, trying to be helpful, suggested I move the scope. lol.gif   Long story short--I finished the time lapse with 1% left on the battery. cool.gif   And the Seestar's wifi range is supposed to be 30 feet, but now I know it's at least 53 feet. grin.gif

 

Here it is:

 

https://youtu.be/kgW4UF0nv1Y

Video is set to private :)



#3 Special Ed

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Posted 16 April 2024 - 09:46 PM

It's public now--sorry about that.


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#4 chvvkumar

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Posted 16 April 2024 - 10:15 PM

Very nice! If you won't mind, I would suggest stabilizing the video centering on the Sun with something like DaVinci Resolve (Free). This is what I generally use for my other videos.

 

https://youtu.be/Fi-LugJiu4w?t=31



#5 Lopper

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Posted 16 April 2024 - 10:37 PM

Only 1% left on the battery, that’s cutting it close!!! Nice timelapse and nice story to go along with it. Thanks for sharing!



#6 Special Ed

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Posted 17 April 2024 - 08:25 AM

Very nice! If you won't mind, I would suggest stabilizing the video centering on the Sun with something like DaVinci Resolve (Free). This is what I generally use for my other videos.

 

https://youtu.be/Fi-LugJiu4w?t=31

Thanks for that link--I'll try it.  Do you know if it will work on a time lapse that's an mp4?

 

Only 1% left on the battery, that’s cutting it close!!! Nice timelapse and nice story to go along with it. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you!  I enjoyed your very fine time lapse, too.  smile.gif


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#7 chvvkumar

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Posted 17 April 2024 - 08:42 AM

Thanks for that link--I'll try it.  Do you know if it will work on a time lapse that's an mp4?

It sure does!


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#8 Special Ed

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Posted 17 April 2024 - 09:47 AM

Thanks.  smile.gif



#9 Special Ed

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Posted 19 April 2024 - 08:11 AM

Well, my computer is apparently too old and feeble to run DaVinci Resolve.  I guess I'll just be satisfied with the time lapse as is.


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