M13, M57 & M27 with iPhone on 21/05/23

[PeterStudz]

I captured these at the end of the first night this year where my daughter camped in the garden. We’d looked at M13, M57 & M27 already and my daughter headed off to bed. So, in the early hours I had another go with the AstroShader app (see earlier threads). But this time with the Dob on my DIY EQ platform. Wasn’t long until astro dark was lost so I quickly reeled off some snaps. 

Using the EQ platform it was obvious that this time there was little if any issues with AstroShaders alignment. I fiddled with some settings not really knowing enough about what I was doing and not enough time to record the details. But here are the results. Considering that I’m in Bortle 7 this is getting there.

With the capture of M13 - Hercules Globular Cluster you can see the propeller. The Ring Nebula M57 shows (just) the central star/white dwarf. And M27 - Dumbbell Nebula (first time I’ve tried to capture) shows some of the outer “shell”. All processing + editing on the phone. I’m sure that far better is possible.

Skywatcher 200p Dob on DIY EQ platform. BST StarGuider 15mm. iPhone 14 Pro mounted on basic no-brand smartphone adapter. Captured using the live stacking app AstroShader. Edited on the phone in AstroShader, WaveletCam and Lightroom. 
 

M13 Hercules Globular Cluster

M57 Ring Nebula

 

M27 Dumbbell Nebula

 

[carastro]

Amazing on a Smartphone, but l know nothing about the App. 
 

Carole

[tomato]

For a camera (albeit an expensive one) that you carry around in your pocket, they are indeed great results.

[Stu]

Those are brilliant Peter, really nice 👍

[Stu]

@PeterStudz I couldn’t find that app, could you post an image of what it looks like or how to find it. Many thanks 🙏 

[Kon]

These look excellent especially doing the full processing on the mobile.

[PeterStudz]

10 hours ago, carastro said:

Amazing on a Smartphone, but l know nothing about the App. 
 

Carole

This app gives camera options like ISO and exposure. Of course that’s nothing special and there are a number of apps that do that. But the difference with this one is that it then try’s to align and stack, and live during image capture. i.e. press the shutter button and then aligns and does the stacking. And it’ll work both at the eyepiece and widefield too. 

Although unguided I’ve found AstroShader a bit hit and miss it does work, especially if your FOV includes some bright starts. For DSO It’s the only app that I’ve found that does any better than Apples stock camera app. Having said that you are at a real advantage if you can capture smartphone DSO images somewhere that’s actually dark. I’m very jealous of anyone in Bortle 4 or below! Then even the stock camera can do surprisingly well. 

[PeterStudz]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

@PeterStudz I couldn’t find that app, could you post an image of what it looks like or how to find it. Many thanks 🙏 

Stu, no problem. In the App Store it looks like this…

And I think that this should give you a direct link…

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/astroshader/id6444631986
 

Hope that helps! 

[Stu]

1 hour ago, PeterStudz said:

Stu, no problem. In the App Store it looks like this…

And I think that this should give you a direct link…

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/astroshader/id6444631986
 

Hope that helps! 

Thanks Peter. Turns out I had it installed already! Clearly I should give it a proper go 👍

[PeterStudz]

@Stu I’ve had it installed since February and only just got around to playing with it. Although that might be partly due to the cloudy nights.

[wesdon1]

13 hours ago, PeterStudz said:

I captured these at the end of the first night this year where my daughter camped in the garden. We’d looked at M13, M57 & M27 already and my daughter headed off to bed. So, in the early hours I had another go with the AstroShader app (see earlier threads). But this time with the Dob on my DIY EQ platform. Wasn’t long until astro dark was lost so I quickly reeled off some snaps. 

Using the EQ platform it was obvious that this time there was little if any issues with AstroShaders alignment. I fiddled with some settings not really knowing enough about what I was doing and not enough time to record the details. But here are the results. Considering that I’m in Bortle 7 this is getting there.

With the capture of M13 - Hercules Globular Cluster you can see the propeller. The Ring Nebula M57 shows (just) the central star/white dwarf. And M27 - Dumbbell Nebula (first time I’ve tried to capture) shows some of the outer “shell”. All processing + editing on the phone. I’m sure that far better is possible.

Skywatcher 200p Dob on DIY EQ platform. BST StarGuider 15mm. iPhone 14 Pro mounted on basic no-brand smartphone adapter. Captured using the live stacking app AstroShader. Edited on the phone in AstroShader, WaveletCam and Lightroom. 
 

M13 Hercules Globular Cluster

M57 Ring Nebula

 

M27 Dumbbell Nebula

 

@PeterStudz My goodness these smartphone pics are better than some of my DSLR astrophotography images! Amazing! Well Done!

[bosun21]

Great captures Peter. You have given me the inspiration to try this with my 12” dobsonian and EQ platform. I was going to go directly to a dedicated Astro camera and laptop but I will probably try this method as I already have the required phone and holder etc. Thank you.

Edited May 23, 2023 by bosun21

[MalcolmM]

Those are very impressive @PeterStudz. Fabulous to see the capabilities of a smartphone in capable hands. It inspires me to try harder!

Malcolm 

[PeterStudz]

8 hours ago, bosun21 said:

Great captures Peter. You have given me the inspiration to try this with my 12” dobsonian and EQ platform. I was going to go directly to a dedicated Astro camera and laptop but I will probably try this method as I already have the required phone and holder etc. Thank you.

Definitely worth a go and I’ve found it a lot of fun. Although the app can align without any tracking the whole thing was easier and worked better on the EQ platform. For a start there’s no need to nudge/move back to the target in order to do another capture. As your  target stays in the FOV for longer you can take longer exposures. And for some reason the app alignment was more reliable on the platform. So that it can align the app does need some relatively bright stars in your FOV. And I only aligned my platform for visual - level with a spirit level, orientating north with a compass.

For editing images  I’ve found the app WaveletCam useful plus Lightroom (just the free version). Occasionally SnapSeed too.

[PeterStudz]

14 hours ago, Kon said:

These look excellent especially doing the full processing on the mobile.

Thanks! Amongst other things I find doing all the processing on the phone a nice challenge.  Now it’s summer and taking inspiration from you, I  might just give the International Space Station a go. I was literally just outside putting our bunnies to bed and it made  a bright pass overhead. And a few days ago, when I was setting up, it unexpectedly came overhead. I didn’t have an eyepiece to hand but I could easily track it in the finder. Maybe it’s giving me a sign! 😃

[bosun21]

31 minutes ago, PeterStudz said:

Definitely worth a go and I’ve found it a lot of fun. Although the app can align without any tracking the whole thing was easier and worked better on the EQ platform. For a start there’s no need to nudge/move back to the target in order to do another capture. As your  target stays in the FOV for longer you can take longer exposures. And for some reason the app alignment was more reliable on the platform. So that it can align the app does need some relatively bright stars in your FOV. And I only aligned my platform for visual - level with a spirit level, orientating north with a compass.

For editing images  I’ve found the app WaveletCam useful plus Lightroom (just the free version). Occasionally SnapSeed too.

I’ll be definitely giving it a go in the near future. I have the Celestron Starsense unit already fitted so target acquisition is easy enough for me. I’ll put a bit more time in pointing the platform North and ensuring it’s level. I’m looking forward to it.

[PeterStudz]

On 23/05/2023 at 23:09, bosun21 said:

I’ll be definitely giving it a go in the near future. I have the Celestron Starsense unit already fitted so target acquisition is easy enough for me. I’ll put a bit more time in pointing the platform North and ensuring it’s level. I’m looking forward to it.

I guess if using  Starsense you’ll need to take your phone out in order to take images? If I think that I’m going to image I’ll sometimes setup the phone in the adaptor + eyepiece attached and ready to use as one unit right the start. Then all I need to do is swap out eyepieces. Saves having to fiddle and attach the phone to adaptor, then adapter/phone to eyepiece… all  in the dark.

To check tracking you can use the phone attached to an eyepiece/telescope. Then point at a bright star and use the grid in the camera app and watch if it stays more or less still. If the star moves then adjust motor speed. You can also take a 30 sec exposure with the camera, then, If there’s no too minimal star trailing, you are fine.

Some time ago I also polar aligned my platform as in the link below. Go to the end of the article. Then marked the position on my patio. The process is a faff so more of a one off. But it can show if you need to adjust, say the south bearing, ever so slightly. Also an activity to do on these far to light summer nights  

http://www.astrosurf.com/aheijkoop/Equipment/EqPlatfor2.htm

 

[bosun21]

17 minutes ago, PeterStudz said:

I guess if using  Starsense you’ll need to take your phone out in order to take images? If I think that I’m going to image I’ll sometimes setup the phone in the adaptor + eyepiece attached and ready to use as one unit right the start. Then all I need to do is swap out eyepieces. Saves having to fiddle and attach the phone to adaptor, then adapter/phone to eyepiece… all  in the dark.

To check tracking you can use the phone attached to an eyepiece/telescope. Then point at a bright star and use the grid in the camera app and watch if it stays more or less still. If the star moves then adjust motor speed. You can also take a 30 sec exposure with the camera, then, If there’s no too minimal star trailing, you are fine.

Some time ago I also polar aligned my platform as in the link below. Go to the end of the article. Then marked the position on my patio. The process is a faff so more of a one off. But it can show if you need to adjust, say the south bearing, ever so slightly. Also an activity to do on these far to light summer nights  

http://www.astrosurf.com/aheijkoop/Equipment/EqPlatfor2.htm

 

I actually have a separate phone for my Starsense unit which basically lives in the unit. The phone i will use for the captures is a Pixel 6 pro. I will read your attached article. Thanks for the link.