With the upcoming eclipse, the good people over at ProCamera reached out to me asking if I had any tips for photographing the eclipse with an iPhone. Truth be told, I hadn’t really done any serious solar observing or photographing other than shooting sunsets. But this seemed like as good of a time as any to learn.

Safety is paramount when it comes to solar observing and photography. Without the proper protective equipment it is VERY easy to damage your camera, telescope, or worst of all cause immediate and permanent blindness. Even during a solar eclipse, it is critical that you take the proper precautions. Here is a great site with suggestions for solar viewing. The cheapest and easiest way is to get a pack of solar viewing glasses.

I wanted to try my hand at making a solar filter for my Celestron 70mm Travelscope. Unfortunately, with the eclipse in just a few days I didn’t have time to order in a solar filter sheet.  However, I did have a few solar viewing glasses lying around.  I found that by gently tearing apart the glasses I could perfectly preserve the solar viewing filters inside.  This left me with 6 sheets, each about 35mm x 50mm in size.

Then, I took a small piece of cardboard and cut out a circle using the 70mm telescope as a template. Next, I used some packing tape and gently laid out 4 of the solar filter sheets in an area to approximate the 70mm aperture. There were some small gaps, so I cut pieces of strips, making sure to overlap and not leave any gaps (could pose safety issue). I then taped the solar filter patch to the cardboard with the cutout and taped it firmly to my scope.

The end result was….functional, but certainly not pretty.  Having to tape together and overlap these pieces is definitely not ideal.  Go with the larger solar filter sheet if you can!

Again, not pretty, but safe and effective! I loaded the scope onto my mount and slewed for the sun. I used the Carson Universal adapter with my iPhone 6, and quickly got the glowing sun into frame. It looked about something like this:

iAstrophotography targets tend to be pretty tough objects for the iPhone camera to properly detect, expose, and focus. They’re either too big, too small, too dim, or too bright. The sun is no exception, and this is where ProCamera 8 really helps.

ProCamera 8 has really nice manual exposure and focus controls that will help you fine tune the look of your solar photographs. Especially with a telescope setup, the manual focus can be a huge help. I was shooting on a cloudy day (and we already discussed the suboptimal solar filter), but you can see the final results I was able to achieve through my very basic telescope, using an iPhone 6 and ProCamera 8. Bringing down the exposure and improving the focus greatly impact the shot. You’ll be surprised at how dark the filter really is when you’re setting the exposure.  Come solar eclipse day on March 20th, there is no question that you’ll be able to take great images with your iPhone and a telescope!

“BUT!!!”, you say, “I don’t have a telescope!”……

Don’t worry, you’re in luck! Even if all you have is an iPhone, you can still take great solar photos. You may have tried to take a picture of the sun on your iPhone before. It works great for sunsets, but even on a partly cloudy day, the best you can usually get mid-day is something like this:

The sun is just too bright, even when trying to reduce the exposure with ProCamera 8. However, remember those solar filter sheets from the viewing glasses? Just one of those makes for a great solar iPhone camera filter. Now, you could easily just hold one of these over your camera lens, or maybe even tape it to your camera case. But, I found that these sheets work perfectly with that Carson Universal adapter. You just drop the sheet into the adapter, clamp your phone in, and it will stay perfectly in place. This gives you great control – I recommend using your earbuds as a remote shutter for even better control.

Just like that, you’re ready to take much better pictures of the sun. There are a couple of really nice features with ProCamera 8 that will help you out here. First, the manual exposure settings are essential. Because you’re likely shooting handheld rather than on a tripod, try to keep the exposure times fast and bump the ISO to what you need. Play around until it looks good! Second, the manual focus is a lifesaver. The iPhone really struggles to focus on the sun just by tapping. The manual focus slider will get you a really nice crisp image. Check this out, again through the clouds!

This is with the iPhone 6 zoom maxed out, but it’s still a pretty cool image! Good luck with your solar eclipse iAstrophotography later this week!

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or photos to share, please let me know!

Clear (and sunny) skies!

Matt

The post Solar Eclipse iAstrophotography first appeared on iAstrophotography.

The Carson Universal Smartphone Adapter is just downright awesome.  In my estimation, it’s the easiest to use and most versatile adapter out there.  Here’s a video to show it off:

As you can see from the video, the Carson Universal is intended to hook up to any optics.  From my tests with various telescope eyepieces and binoculars, this really seems to be accurate.  What you can’t really get from the video though, is just how easy it is to use the Carson Universal.

***Important Update***:  There is now a version 2.0 of the Carson Hookupz Universal.  I haven’t had a chance to use this new model, but it looks pretty awesome!  From this video below, you can see that it’s now easier to align your camera lens in the center of the adapter.  There also appears to be a new lock which will help the adapter grip onto an eyepiece.

Here’s another video showing that the Carson Hookupz 2.0 works with dual camera phones (such as the iPhone 7+).

The only downside I see to the 2.0 is that it looks to be about $15 more expensive than the 1.0 on Amazon.  If I were buying my first adapter, I’d probably opt for the more expensive 2.0, as it looks to make this great adapter even more user friendly.

***End of Update***

Initial setup is significantly easier than with any other adapter I’ve tried.  There are two latches that can be easily unlocked to allow your phone to slide into place.  Once you have your smartphone camera in place, you tighten the clamps and lock the latches.  From there, simple spring mechanisms will do the rest of the work.  So far, this is the only universal adapter I’ve tested that is actually easy enough to interchange with multiple phone types out in typical observing conditions (i.e. dark and cold).  Here’s a video from Carson showing the setup:

The Carson adapter is also extremely easy to get on and off your eyepieces/binoculars.  You just squeeze the back spring-loaded clamps open, drop over your eyepiece, and release.  Again, I can’t overstate how important this ease of use is when in typical observing conditions.  This is a huge plus when you’re constantly switching eyepieces and trying to locate objects in your field of view.  Here’s a pic of the eyepiece clamp triggers being squeezed to open:

The only downside I can find is that the Carson Universal Smartphone Adapter doesn’t currently support “phablet” sized phones, like the iPhone 6 Plus.  Though I’ve heard that they have a new model in the works that will support these phones.  For my iPhone 6 and most other smartphones, this thing is very nearly perfect.  Here are a few pictures I captured the other night out camping with some friends and then hiking in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and then Julian, CA.

The Moon and Orion Nebula pictures were taken through my Celestron Advanced VX 6 inch Newtonian telescope, and the picture of the turkey vultures (I think that’s what they are?) was taken through my Celestron SkyMaster 15 x 70 Binoculars.

Overall the Carson Universal Smartphone Adapter is extremely well thought out.  It has a lens spacer, which can help you find the right focal distance to optimize the image in your smartphone.  It even comes with a really nice protective case and carabiner:

If you’re in the market for an iAstrophotography smartphone mount, I highly recommend the Carson Universal Smartphone Adapter.  You can pick one up on Amazon for a great price.  Here’s their website for additional info:  Carson Universal.

Clear skies!

Matt

P.S. I also recently checked out the iOptron Universal Smartphone Eyepiece Adapter.  In short, the thought behind it isn’t bad, but it doesn’t quite deliver.  It wouldn’t work with my iPhone 6 due to constantly pushing the volume buttons.  It is also limited to only working with the 12.5mm eyepiece that it screws into, so forget about using your own eyepieces or binoculars.  To sum it up, go with the Carson Universal or Carson Hookupz 2.0!

The post My New Favorite iPhone Telescope Adapter for iAstrophotography! first appeared on iAstrophotography.

As I mentioned in part 1, the SnapZoom will likely take a little upfront adjustment depending on your phone model.  This isn’t too tough, but it does require a small screwdriver.  Once you get it set though, you can leave it.  After that, it’s super easy to use.  Just clamp in your phone, then clamp over the eyepiece or binocular eyecup.

The SnapZoom seems to work especially well with binoculars.  The clamp is meant to fit over two eyecups, so you get a really stable connection.  With my Celestron SkyMaster 15 x 70 Binoculars, having the eyecups flipped up puts the adapter at a perfect focal distance to get a nice full image on the phone.  With the eyecups flipped down, the attachment puts the camera at an incorrect relief point.

So, the SnapZoom is really fun and easy when working with binoculars.  However, with the skies clear the past few nights, I gave it a spin on my Celestron Advanced VX 6in Newtonian Telescope.  Unfortunately, I ran into a few challenges here.  They were minor, but noticeable nonetheless.

The clamp mechanism works great for holding a phone (minus a minor challenge of occasionally squeezing the volume buttons).  It also works great for clamping onto the two eyecups of binoculars, but when clamping onto a single eyepiece it isn’t quite as robust of a connection.  I started out using my 20mm eyepiece, which has a nice long section of tube to grab onto and a big field of view.  It’s generally the easiest eyepiece to start hooking an iPhone up to.  The SnapZoom definitely has some bulk to it, and depending on the orientation of my scope, I noticed the weight of the SnapZoom plus my iPhone would just slightly tilt the adapter.  This made it tough to always get the full field of view right onto the camera sensor.  Even when I got it just right, any tapping of the screen to make adjustments would tend to tilt it.  I could see this definitely being less of an issue with a refractor or Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope based on the angle of the eyepiece.  With a Newtonian or Dobsonian though, the SnapZoom will want to swivel down to a portrait view, rather than its typical landscape view.

Other than this minor issue, the SnapZoom is a very nice adapter.  My only other complaint is that the screw mechanisms aren’t necessarily the easiest things in the world to feel out and control in the dark.  For an iPhone 6 Plus or other phablet-sized smartphones, I think the SnapZoom is probably going to be your best bet.  However, for smaller sized phones, I think I’ve found an even better option…stay tuned for that review!

Cheers!

Matt

The post New iPhone Telescope Adapter – SnapZoom – Part 2 first appeared on iAstrophotography.

I’ve received a few emails that the Orion SteadyPix Universal Smartphone Adapter is currently unavailable on Amazon, and it looks to be true.  Don’t fear though!  There are several other great options for adapters out there, and this is a great opportunity to check some of them out.  Let’s start with a look at the SnapZoom.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Mike from Orange County Telescope – thanks to the reader who turned him onto the site!  Mike told me to check out the SnapZoom.  You can see from the website, the SnapZoom is intended for broad compatibility.  Telescope, binoculars, microscope, spotting scope; the SnapZoom should work with all of them.  Here’s a link to the SnapZoom YouTube video.  Having just picked up a pair of Celestron SkyMaster 15 x 70 Binoculars, I was eager to try it out!

You can get the SnapZoom from Mike’s online store here for $69.95.  It’s a little more expensive than the Orion adapter was, but it has some really nice advantages!  Here’s a look at the packaging as it arrived – nice, sleek look.

It was just starting to get dark, and the moon was nearly full.  So I wanted to get these onto my new binoculars ASAP.  The SnapZoom comes with minimal, easy-to-follow, instructions, because it’s really pretty straightforward.  There are essentially two main mechanisms.  1) A clamp for your phone.  2) A clamp for the eyepiece(s).  These are driven open and closed by two, independent screw systems.

Seems simple enough; however, when you load in your iPhone, you’ll immediately notice that the camera isn’t going to end up centered where the eyepiece goes.  I’m assuming that smartphones with centered cameras won’t have this problem.  I was a little concerned at first, but it just takes a little adjustment to get things lined up.  For this adjustment, you’ll use the small screwdriver that’s included in the packaging.  You simply loosen the small set screw in the image below, then slide the two clamp systems to the desired position for your specific phone.  It takes a little tweaking to get just right, but it’s easy to adjust for different size phones.

With that out of the way, I was ready to go.  Here were some of the other things I really liked about the SnapZoom on first use:

1. Limited degrees of freedom for simplicity.  The Orion universal adapter strangely allowed all different sections of the adapter to rotate.  This made it extremely difficult to get everything lined up correctly.  Then once you had it lined up, it was easy to mess up.  The SnapZoom is super simple – open and close on the phone and eyepiece, no rotation.
2. Secure grip.  The screw mechanisms can clamp really tightly.  So tightly, that the package includes a foam strip if you end up putting too much pressure on volume buttons which may act as camera triggers.  I haven’t had to use this, but nice to have.  The eyepiece clamp also works really well.  I found that the Orion clamp would take a lot of turns to tighten/loosen, then could still be rotated around the eyepiece.
3. Access to the headphone jack!  This one is huge!  iPhones now have the headphone jack on the bottom, and using earbuds as a remote shutter is the best way to get steady shots.  It drove me crazy that the Orion adapter blocked the headphone jack.
4. Strap and counterbalance.  The strap is a nice touch.  It’s always a little anxiety inducing to have your phone sitting in a clamp, attached to an eyepiece, in a telescope.  Being able to hook onto something is nice peace of mind in case something slips.  I haven’t had to use the counterbalance yet, but glad it’s included in case.

To sum it all up though, it’s all about simplicity with the SnapZoom.  Once you have it tweaked for your phone, it’s super easy to slide your phone in, and clamp onto the binocular eyecups.  I had it setup in probably five minutes and was out taking shots of the moon – super cool!  Here’s the setup and a shot of the moon:

Here’s another shot through the binos…and some clouds!

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get out with my telescope and the SnapZoom yet, so stay tuned for part 2!

Thanks again to Mike from Orange County Telescope for turning me on to the SnapZoom!

Clear skies,

Matt

The post New iPhone Telescope Adapter – SnapZoom – Part 1 first appeared on iAstrophotography.

First of all, I think the dark skies really helped.  It was a new moon and some of the darkest skies I’ve seen.  I got my telescope all setup.  The scope I used is the Celestron Advanced VX 6 inch Newtonian, which has been an absolute pleasure to use.  It only took about 10 minutes to get everything setup and tracking appropriately.  By the time I was set, Orion was just coming up well above the horizon.  This image (taken with just my iPhone) will give you a sense of how dark the skies really were.

With the telescope slewed to the Orion Nebula, I mounted my iPhone 6 using the Orion SteadyPix adapter.  In the past I’ve used ProCamera 7 and 8 as my go to apps for iAstrophotography, but this time I used NightCap Pro.  It performed like a champ!

I set the app to Long Exposure, with Night Mode and Light Boost (see options with green lights in lower left).  I also used the focus lock to get a close focus, then dialed it in further using the focus knobs on my telescope.

I wanted to experiment with image stacking a bit, so I took 4 shots of about 20-30 seconds each.  After the first 3-5 seconds I could notice the exposure picking up more light, but after that, I’m not sure if the longer exposure had much effect.  In any case, here’s what an individual frame looked like:

Even that turned out pretty impressively, but it’s not zoomed in at all and the surrounding blackness shows some noise.  So, I took 3 more frames like that.  Then I put the cap on my telescope and took 4 similar dark frames.

This was my first attempt stacking deep space images.  I ended up using Regim for Mac, and I found this video tutorial very easy to follow.  This process didn’t take long at all, and I think it definitely helped take some of the noise out of the background areas.  A little more editing in iPhoto and Instagram, and here’s the final product:

Let me know if you have any additional tips or if you’ve had success shooting any other DSOs with an iPhone.

Cheers!

Matt

The post The Orion Nebula – iAstrophotography first appeared on iAstrophotography.

Telescopes to Tanzania was started by two great folks, Chuck and Sue Ruehle, who brought some telescopes with them on a trip to Tanzania.  Since then, they’ve worked to grow their effort into the development of The Center for Science Education and Observatory in East Africa.  The idea is to not just create a center for astronomical activity in East Africa, but to truly inspire students in East Africa to engage in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).  Quick, go check out their IndieGoGo funding page!  They only have a few days left to reach their funding goal, so do your part!

I absolutely love the concept of Telescopes to Tanzania.  Anyone who has ever looked through a telescope knows how inspiring that first glimpse of the Moon is.  Especially as a kid, it’s impossible to look through a telescope and not have your mind fill with questions of how and why.

I can’t wait to see the great things Telescopes to Tanzania is able to accomplish!

The post Telescopes to Tanzania first appeared on iAstrophotography.

In my opinion, this app is an absolute must have for anyone with even the slightest interest in astronomy.  It’s $1.99 in the App Store and worth every penny.  At the very least, it’s a great way to explore the night sky when you’re new to astronomy.  Here are some of my favorite things about Sky Guide:

1. The design is beautiful.  The image used to form the 360 degree backdrop image of the night sky is breathtaking.  It’s like having a full panoramic astrophoto of the universe right at your fingertips.  Ever wonder what the silver cloud of the Milky Way looks like under dark skies?  Well now you can see it.

2. Real-time coordinates for tons of celestial objects.  Planets, the Moon, galaxies, nebulae…this app has it all.  If you’re using a non Go-To telescope, this app is extremely helpful for providing real-time declination and right-ascension coordinates to find your targets.  You also have the option of selecting any date/time in the past or future to see how the sky would align at that time.  Even more than that the Sky Guide app will display the section of sky in which your phone is aiming.  This will help you identify any unknown star or planet you see in the night.

3. Interesting details and information to help engage with the night sky.  Sky Guide displays a wealth of information for each celestial object in its library.  There are details such as type of star, size of star, distance from Earth, and more.  This level of detail is sure to spark your exploratory interest in astronomy.

This is just a starter list for the greatness of Sky Guide.  Even if you don’t have a telescope, I highly recommend this app for a normal night under the stars.  You’re guaranteed to have a good time picking out different stars, planets, and constellations!  Sky Guide, go check it out!

Have a suggestion for great astronomical apps for either iPhone or Android?  Let everyone know in the comments below!

The post Suggested App: Sky Guide first appeared on iAstrophotography.

1. About two months ago, I brought my telescope out to nearby high point in South San Diego, called Mt. Soledad.  It was a Friday night, and I thought it would be a nice way to relax after a long week.  Mt. Soledad is a local favorite for its amazing panoramic views of the city and ocean, plus it has a nice veterans monument.  It also gets me away from a lot of the nearby bright lights at my house.  I expected the area to be empty, but there were a few cars driving around.  At one point, a group of four kids walked over to me, clearly intrigued by the telescope.  One of the guys prodded one of the girls, “Come on, just ask him.”  And she did, “You see that one over there?  Is it a star or a plane, because I swear it’s moving.”  I chuckled and told them that one was a star, but in the other direction we could see a distant plane coming in on the flight path to San Diego International Airport.  I asked them if they wanted to look through the telescope (it was aimed at the moon just over half-full).  The four of them took turns looking, then stepping away jaws agape.  We all agreed, it was awesome!  They turned out to be sophomores in high school, and by all accounts this was the first time they thought something related to science was cool.  So, they stuck around for another half-hour or so while we looked for Saturn rising.  Eventually they had to take off for curfew, but not before asking tons of questions.  All-in-all, it was a pretty cool experience to see some youngsters get to look through a telescope for the first time!

2. A few weeks ago, I got to meet up with my parents up in Napa Valley for a night.  Before I left, my dad asked if I could bring my telescope.  I wasn’t sure how I would get it up there, but somehow it fit in my biggest suitcase, tripod and all, even wrapped up in my sleeping bag for protection.  I’m thinking it would probably be wise to get a travel case for next time.  Anyway, we had really dark skies, if not a little hazy.  We got everything setup on the patio of the inn we were staying at, and we had a blast checking out the moon (a low hanging crescent), Mars, and Saturn, all over some dessert wine.  Great way to cap off a trip with the parents!

3. I got a new telescope!  More details to come in future posts, but it’s sweeeeeet!  It’s definitely going to be helpful for improving my iAstrophotography.  Here’s a shot I recently took of the Double Cluster.  I know it’s not particularly impressive by astrophotography standards, but I think it’s still aesthetically awesome, and a great way to share with others.

Clear skies!

Matt

The post Back at the helm first appeared on iAstrophotography.

***Update to the Update*** I’ve now written about my new favorite iPhone or other smartphone adapter, the Carson Universal.  Check it out here!

If you’re like me, your first experience with iPhone Astrophotography, or iAstrophotography, was holding your smartphone camera up to the eyepiece of your telescope.  It’s a delicate act trying to steadily hold the iPhone and simultaneously snap a picture, but the results can be surprisingly promising.

There’s a better way…

Fortunately, specialized iPhone-to-telescope mounts exist.  I’ve tried two different mounts with mixed results.

My first experience with an iAstrophotography mount was the Magnifi case by Arcturus Labs.  The case is a bit pricey, but well constructed.  It was a great step up from simply holding my iPhone; however, I quickly ran into some challenges.  The eyepiece clamp requires a specific amount of real estate and clearance to sufficiently clamp on.  Without this, the connection is loose and becomes inaccurate.  It seems as though the case may have designed primarily for microscope eyepieces.  I found that it worked well with my 20mm eyepiece, but with my 10mm and 6mm, there wasn’t enough eyepiece to grab on to.  The result was often that I couldn’t get the image centered or crisp on my phone.

The solution

I was eager to find a better solution, so I ordered the Orion SteadyPix Universal Smartphone Adapter.  This adapter is admittedly on the pricey side, but it’s definitely flexible and should work with most smartphones.  I immediately found that it was easy to use and adjust to get a good image.  However, this adapter has several locking knobs for adjustment, and these can be challenging to manipulate in the dark.  To overcome this, I made a few quick modifications with some lock nuts and super glue.

The modifications

Here’s a look at the front side of the adapter:

And here’s a look at the backside of the unmodified adapter:

The first step was to load up the adapter with my smallest exit pupil eyepiece, a 6mm Plossl.  Then I put my iPhone in the adapter and adjusted the knobs until the view was centered.  Here’s a screenshot of what that looked like:

With the iPhone aligned, I then superglued two lock nuts in such a location that I could always easily find the proper alignment positioning.  Here are some images showing how the lock nuts work to define the aligned position:

I used the ultra gel control Loctite superglue and found that the setting time and slightly gelatinous nature helped to accurately place the lock nuts.

So far, using this in practice with my telescope has been a real pleasure.  I can easily swing my iPhone out of the way to get a good look through the eyepiece.  Then when I’ve got the target centered, the lock nuts help guide the adapter into perfect alignment.  From there I can do some minor fine tuning adjustments of the other knobs.  This has been a big help with my iAstrophotography.

Let me know what you think of these modifications, and if you have any other suggestions, be sure to leave them in the comments!

The post iPhone Mounts for iAstrophotography first appeared on iAstrophotography.

What followed was my first attempt at polar alignment.  This is a process for setting up an equatorial mount to be aligned with the axis of the Earth’s rotation.  Polar alignment is really what allows an equatorial mount to work its magic.  This was all a foreign language to me, but don’t worry, if you’re just starting you’ll get the hang of it.  Check out my page on Astronomy Terminology, if you haven’t already, to get a good background.  The video below is a little goofy, but I found it very helpful for learning polar alignment:

So with a little trial and error, I finally had my scope polar aligned.  From there I messed around with the knobs and axes of the mount, not really knowing what I was doing, until I had the Moon in my sights.  I started off with the lower power 20mm eyepiece to more easily hone in on the Moon.  Naturally, I held my iPhone up to the eyepiece, and here’s what I captured:

Now I was really hooked.  This was by far the coolest picture I’d ever taken with my iPhone, and all I had to do was hold it up to my telescope.

However, as the night went on and I experimented with higher magnification eyepieces and smaller targets like Jupiter, I found that it became difficult to steadily hold my iPhone up against the eyepiece for a good image.  That night after a little searching, I came across the Magnifi iPhone case.  It looked like exactly what I needed, so I got one on order.  We’ll see how it turns out!

The post New Scope Test Run first appeared on iAstrophotography.