me and the moon

[tigerjon]

i've just had a 50 minute date with my dob 200p and the moon, she was looking amazing and things were going really well until i tried to take some photos, i was only using a camera phone so im aware they wont be great, i got a couple of 'ok' shots but i was wondering if anyone could offer some advice or is it just trial and error?

thanks Jon

[JamesF]

I've never tried it, but I think there's a fair bit of trial and error involved. One thing that does seem to help is some sort of mount to hold the camera in place over the eyepiece. It may also be worth taking a few dozen frames (this is where a mount really helps and stacking them to create a single image.

James

[Stargazer_00]

The trick to this is setting the moon up just out of the eyepiece so it drifts right through the view.

I find holding the camera about 10mm off of the eyepiece gets the best results rather than trying to cram the phone directly onto the eyepiece. Start from about 5 inches away where you can sese the bright exit pupil on the screen and then move the phone towards it until the view fills the screen.

Hold it there and snap snap snap snap snap like crazy without rocking the phone.

Burst shot is useful if you have it. Obviously no flash. Play with the various effects/exposure settings on the camera.

You can get some pretty funky camera apps these days for doing SLR like things (badly).

[steveb1977]

Hi Jon, Here is a thread with a few shots I have got with a Galaxy S2.

http://stargazerslou...e-moon-tonight/

Basic steps are to zoom the camera in on the limb of the moon and adjust the focus based on the screen, not your eyes.

Have a play aroung with the settings on the camera, think it is best if the iso is quite low, until the image looks decent.

Then zoom back at and snap loads of pic, couple of dozen.

Have a look at them and pick the best on the PC. Then a bit of tweaking (sharpness and contrast) with infranview and cropping.

As James says stacking the images may also help but this isn't something I have tried yet.

[glowjet]

It would seem "Revelation" now manufacture an Astro Smart Phone holder and digiscoping bracket, which clamps to the eye piece, you can find reference to it in the April issue of the S@N mag, under latest astronomical accessories:)

John.