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Starlog July 1st, 2025, 9:29 p.m. local time
In this latest chapter of “no more excuses”, I took my homemade Dobsonian outside after a far-too-long hiatus. These recent early Summer days have been very hot, but bearable by Dusk, with mostly cloudless skies. And so this was an ideal opportunity to photograph the latest young Moon.
I have much to write and catch up on. Primarily, I spent the first half of this year really getting into automated (planetary) telescope photography with my Celstron NexStar Evolution 9.25″. Everything from a dedicated laptop, to a legit Zwo camera, to even using an Xbox controller to guide the scope, were central to my astronomy experiences this past Spring. I have still a collection of late Jupiter images I am afraid to post-process with the new setup and techniques, because I fear the results will be either brilliant or hideous.
The new computerized telescope takes a lot of time to set up completely, though I have gotten the process down to under 30 minutes. By comparison, to move my Dobsonian outside and place my iPhone into the eyepiece adapter, such a few-minute chore can be neither ignored nor overlooked. Perhaps the more complicated tech setup will provide me with a better appreciation for the simpler, such as tonight’s session with an easy target and proven results.
I also completely revamped my website’s look and theme. Let me know your opinion of the look in the Comments section below (good or bad, I welcome all criticism).
And lastly but not least, I will be discussing my current approach to AI and my blog in a future article.
Equipment Used:
- 254mm Dobsonian telescope (homemade)
- 23mm eyepiece
- No eyepiece filter
- iPhone 14 Pro
- Smartphone telescope eyepiece adapter
- NightCap app on iPhone
- Apple Watch Series 10 (acting as NightCap shutter)
- f/1.8
- 1/128 sec exposure
- ISO 57
- Focal length: 7mm
- Touchups in PaintShop Pro and AfterShot Pro
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Setting up a telescope for digital imaging can sometimes be quite a chore. Dismantling at the end is worse. My work-around solution has been to install my telescope and its equatorial mount permanently on a wheely dolly, which I just roll out of the garage onto the front drive and position in the same marked location each time. I realise that such a solution may not suit everyone.
My solution is I have everything arranged in bags and cases so I can carry them into my yard and assemble on the spot. I have the “official” Celestron case for the tube, the “official” tripod bag, and two Pelican cases for the heavy parts plus electronics. Was planning to detail it all out in an article.
Besides the time efficiency, I chose this compartmentalize method so I can place everything into my pickup truck and hopefully start taking the equipment to remote darker sites.