Been noticing quite a bit of glare around some bright objects like Saturn and seems like a little bit of loss of contrast. Popped the mirror cell out and notice this. I think it's time to do at least a light dusting on this. Think I ought to do a good deep cleaning too? 3rd picture shows a small spot at the edge cleaned with a q-tip soaked in lens cleaner.
Unstable event, recorded through my PS5. I liked this story event, but people must be expecting the new season to start today or something. It's a minor event, and this one had quite a bit imo.
Thanks to u/mrstorm1983 , I managed to give a 3rd-party camera app another try and got a better shot of Venus tonight (Fri, July 31).
Telescope: Apertura AD10
Eyepieces: Svbony 6mm Redline, Apertura 2.5× Barlow
Camera: Google Pixel 6
Mount: Celestron NexYZ Phone Adapter
Used OpenCamera under "Standard" photo mode, Focus at Infinity and adjusted focus on telescope accordingly, Manual ISO and Manual Exposure Compensation
Taken at ISO100 @ 1/900s
Edited in Lightroom Mobile for color correction and better exposure, as well as removing chromatic aberration
No way am I going to grind all day long to be extracting 10 sprites for 25K XP. Plus, I like challenges that force me to drop into different POIs, instead of going on autopilot to the same old location every time.
For context, I only have a 10" Dobsonian (manual), a NEXYZ phone mount, a Pixel 6, and a collection of a "few" eyepieces. I've taken photos through this for about the past year, and I get people around me at work, friends, etc. saying "you should start selling those!" I personally feel my equipment AND my photos don't meet the "sellable" quality, but am beginning to question whether people might actually buy blurry, chromatic photos. For those of you who've started selling your photos, how'd you get started and do you think I should jump on it and use it as a means to fund for better equipment, or wait until I do get better equipment?
This is a long clip, but I didn't feel like editing it. Made some shots that should've hit, made some that weren't so good, but I got the W by pure patience, even while the storm was coming in.
Believe it or not, this was in Southern California about a half hour ago. Pixel 6, single shot, astrophotography mode. 4-minute exposure. Edited in Lightroom Mobile for exposure only this time
Let's hope that Reddit doesn't decide to ruin the photo with its infamous compression algorithm, but this is a photo I took earlier this morning at 4:51AM PDT. As a note, the Cassini Division is JUST BARELY coming into view now under moments of excellent seeing, and depending on how Reddit handles this image, you might even make it out here. The shadow of the globe on the rings is visible on the left, and hints of the south polar band region may be visible.
​
Capture details:
Single-shot, 1/46s @ ISO1642, normal Photo mode, 2× zoom
Camera: Google Pixel 6
Telescope: Apertura AD10, 1250mm focal length
Eyepieces used: 6mm Svbony Redline, Apertura 2.5x 3-element Barlow. (Total magnification of 521x optically, 1042 with crop factored in.)
Mount: Celestron Nextstar XYZ phone adapter.
​
Edited in Lightroom Mobile for color and contrast correction, chromatic aberration removal, and removed sensor noise reduction.
Battled wind and less-than-ideal seeing conditions, but I got the video and images finalized. Posting the downloaded video here. EDIT: Capture details:
Telescope: Apertura AD10 Camera: Google Pixel 6 Camera mount: Celestron Nextstar XYZ phone adapter Eyepieces used: Svbony 6mm Redline, Apertura 3-Element 2.5× Barlow.
Edited in Lightroom Mobile for color/contrast correction. Text overlays/music/video processing done in TikTok
I'm wanting to get some decent final views of Jupiter before it sinks too low, but that means I have to start viewing it very shortly after sunset. Being in the SoCal Desert at around 35°N latitude, it's still very hot around that time, between 95-100°F (35-38°C), and maybe at 15% humidity at the most. Meanwhile, inside the house usually is anywhere between 75-85°F (24-29°C) depending on the outside humidity and 50-75% humidity inside. Maybe that's a bit too much info, but idk.
As I said, I want to get some decent views before it sets, and possibly a few photos of it for my TikTok. But with the conditions, how should I acclimate the scope? Should I set it in the sun about an hour before or the shade? Or is there a different way to ideally do it that's different than a normal nighttime viewing session?
I collimated my scope (AD10), and it looks good, but when viewing through the eyepiece, something seems "off," and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe you all here can help me figure out what it is. I hate having to wear glasses lol. I know I've walked my primary back far enough with collimations that I can focus with the 30mm placed all the way into the focuser, but I don't think that's the problem?
It appears that on occasion the Ice King doesn't have eyes
I don't get to the beach often (obviously), but every time I do, I have the same problem - I take off my sandals to go in the water, toss them aside nearby, and beach sand being beach sand, it gets everywhere. Then I put my sandals back on, and the tops of my toes get roughed up and cut after walking around. Even when I don't put sandals back on. And then of course I'm limping or heeling it the rest of the day and bandaging it for a week or two. Yet walking around, you see so many people with feet that are in at least halfway decent condition. If location helps, it's the SoCal beaches like Huntington Beach or San Clemente that are my go-tos whenever I do go
Was up at 3 in the morning looking at the Lagoon Nebula through my 10-inch out my window (opened and no screen lol) and decided to take this pic of the central area of the Milky Way from my room. Google Pixel 6, Single shot in astrophotography mode, 4 minutes, edited in Lightroom Mobile for crop, contrast and color correction, and exposure.
Playing on PS5 and every time I open it, it's on the Discover by default as of the past couple of days
I realized now since I'm not gaming on a potato, the telescopes in the OG mode have Celestron-type logos. What others have you all noticed?