M3(?!) 14th March

[Penumbrella]

I'm just beginning in all this and I was trying to find M3 last night, just because Arcturus was easy to see and M3 looked close in skysafari. I was failing terribly - bortle 6 skies + no star-hopping skills whatsoever = frustration station. I had actually given up and decided to try out the camera on my new-to-me phone, before heading in. I figured I'd just get some indistinguishable stars but after ~4minutes of the phone working away this appeared! I am amazed at what the phone has pulled out (and quietly chuffed with the vindication of my finding skills plus the collimation I spent the earlier evening futzing with). Such a satisfying end to the night. I've attached the 'out of the camera' image and then one where I've fiddled - still on the phone! - to bring it out further. 

Scope - skywatcher 130pds, 

Eyepiece - celestron xcel lx 5mm

Phone - Google Pixel 4a 

 

[PeterStudz]

Nice one @Penumbrella. Here’s my attempt from last year using an iPhone on an even smaller telescope (Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p pictured here doing some solar) in Bortle 7, although last year ClearOutside gave it Bortle 8. However, I could see it in the telescope as a faint fuzzy patch. Then M3 was high in the sky. My advice is to wait, or stay up into the early hours, when the object you want to view is as high as possible. Then, especially in light polluted sky, it’s darker.

I find it fun trying to see what smartphones can do without stacking and minimal processing on the phone.

Edited March 15, 2022 by PeterStudz

[Penumbrella]

Thanks @PeterStudz. That's a great tip - it had yet to occur to me to use the movement of the stars to my advantage!

Yes, the work the phone is doing was almost as amazing to me as my first look at M3 (almost) 😁

[tripleped]

That’s really nice! What exposure time?

[Penumbrella]

On 19/03/2022 at 14:00, tripleped said:

That’s really nice! What exposure time?

Was the phone's auto "astronomy" mode. So all a bit black-boxed. I just hit go and 4 mins later out the picture popped. It was definitely stacking multiple exposures, but I've no idea of how many of them there were or what the settings were. 

[Elp]

Think the pixel takes 15s exposures in AP mode up to 4 mins total on the newer models.

[jjohnson3803]

Very nice shots.  I might have to upgrade my iPhone 7 to something with a better camera one of these days.