Cell Phone AstroPhotography - Page 3

LaurV · 2017-07-09, 04:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spherical Cow

A wrap-up to the thread: ... <snip>

That first photo is really beautiful!

Thanks for sharing it.

Spherical Cow · 2017-07-10, 16:44

And just one more....A very large sunspot has appeared on the sun, even though we're near the minimum in the 11-year solar cycle. I have a full aperture solar filter for the 6-inch scope, so I can safely observe. Too many heat waves to be good viewing (100+ degrees F), but it came out nicer than I expected.

Norm

Spherical Cow · 2017-08-26, 15:27

Finally back from Oregon and the eclipse; terrific views- gorgeous prominences, and nice, nice corona. Even before the moon had completely uncovered the sun, our group was discussing possibilities for the next one.

The cell phone mounted on the scope worked well- the pictures with it are not nearly as clear as "real cameras" and telephotos, but not bad at all, either. The screen of the cell phone allows multiple people to look through the scope, rather than one person at the eyepiece at a time (With only 2 minutes of totality, that's a real problem). The kids in the group (5 to 7 years old) really liked it; made it easier to explain to them what they're looking at. Plus, once I told them the camera was voice-activated, and they could simply say "Shoot" to take a picture, they had a great time.

Here's the set-up as we were getting closer to totality.

Norm

ewmayer · 2017-08-27, 20:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spherical Cow

Finally back from Oregon and the eclipse; terrific views- gorgeous prominences, and nice, nice corona. Even before the moon had completely uncovered the sun, our group was discussing possibilities for the next one.

The cell phone mounted on the scope worked well- the pictures with it are not nearly as clear as "real cameras" and telephotos, but not bad at all, either. The screen of the cell phone allows multiple people to look through the scope, rather than one person at the eyepiece at a time (With only 2 minutes of totality, that's a real problem). The kids in the group (5 to 7 years old) really liked it; made it easier to explain to them what they're looking at. Plus, once I told them the camera was voice-activated, and they could simply say "Shoot" to take a picture, they had a great time.

Here's the set-up as we were getting closer to totality.

Norm

Sounds like you had a blast - I am lower-tech, as a wee lad my Da' showed me how to project the image of he sun coming out of the eyepiece onto a white surface, which neatly solves both the problems of needing a special filter (e.g. the one you used to view sunspots) and allowing multiple folks to share in the view. With a tubular scope design you just point the scope roughly at the sun and then minimize the shadow cast by the tube on the ground to refine the alignment. With the eyepiece removed and its barrel pointing at the projection surface you just gently fiddle the alignment until the 'flash of light' on the white surface in form of the mirror and secondary shadow tells you that you have 'caught the sun', then gently insert eyepiece and adjust focus.

Uncwilly · 2017-08-28, 04:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewmayer

Sounds like you had a blast - I am lower-tech, as a wee lad my Da' showed me how to project the image of he sun coming out of the eyepiece onto a white surface, which neatly solves both the problems of needing a special filter (e.g. the one you used to view sunspots) and allowing multiple folks to share in the view.

During a partial, when I was still in the single digits age-wise, my pappy did that. Then we traced out the shape every few minutes (sliding the surface sideways and noting the time.) Afterward we inked in the tracings and coloured the surface. It was turned in for a science project at least once or twice for some fine marks.

Spherical Cow · 2017-08-28, 16:59

Ah, Yes- Now that you mention it, I remember doing that as well. Must have been the early teens, and with a small telescope, otherwise the eyepiece could heat up enough to crack. I think I had a 2.4 inch refractor from Sears Roebuck that cost all my savings combined with being partially a Christmas present. Great times.

Norm

Spherical Cow · 2017-11-13, 21:24

Not a great picture, since the seeing was kind of poor very low on the horizon this morning, but did get the Venus-Jupiter conjunction during a break in the clouds. The cell phone on the 6-inch telescope again, but with the poor seeing, I couldn't zoom in to try to get any of the bands on Jupiter. I also took a normal camera shot of the conjunction and the horizon, and that's the featured picture for Nov 13 on http://spaceweather.com/ .

Norm

Spherical Cow · 2018-04-16, 20:54

Had to give it a try- I found out that a transit of the space station across the sun would be visible Saturday morning, along a narrow path about a 2.5-hour drive from here. So, a total of 5 hours of driving time for a 0.58 second-long transit. Wasn't sure that the cell phone video on the 6-inch Dob would get it, but sure enough, shows up reasonably well. Video was running at 30 frames per second, and as calculated, it's there in 15 frames- below is one of the last frames before it exited off the disk. Not bad for small Dob and a cell phone, but I've got to get myself some good equipment.

Norm

Uncwilly · 2018-04-16, 20:56

Nice catch!!

Spherical Cow · 2018-04-17, 22:55

OK- let's see if this works- here's a .gif file of the transit of the ISS from the cell phone video file (through a 6-inch telescope). This has been slowed down to 1/2 speed. The actual transit was only 0.5 seconds long; slowing it down helps the visibility a lot.

Norm

LaurV · 2018-04-20, 10:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spherical Cow

OK- let's see..

Wonderful! Very nice catch! Thanks for sharing.
Seeing that thing in the skies makes us feel important, hehe...

2017-07-10, 16:44	#24
Spherical Cow Nov 2004 1034₈ Posts	And just one more....A very large sunspot has appeared on the sun, even though we're near the minimum in the 11-year solar cycle. I have a full aperture solar filter for the 6-inch scope, so I can safely observe. Too many heat waves to be good viewing (100+ degrees F), but it came out nicer than I expected. Norm Attached Thumbnails

2017-08-26, 15:27	#25
Spherical Cow Nov 2004 2²×3³×5 Posts	Finally back from Oregon and the eclipse; terrific views- gorgeous prominences, and nice, nice corona. Even before the moon had completely uncovered the sun, our group was discussing possibilities for the next one. The cell phone mounted on the scope worked well- the pictures with it are not nearly as clear as "real cameras" and telephotos, but not bad at all, either. The screen of the cell phone allows multiple people to look through the scope, rather than one person at the eyepiece at a time (With only 2 minutes of totality, that's a real problem). The kids in the group (5 to 7 years old) really liked it; made it easier to explain to them what they're looking at. Plus, once I told them the camera was voice-activated, and they could simply say "Shoot" to take a picture, they had a great time. Here's the set-up as we were getting closer to totality. Norm Attached Thumbnails

2017-11-13, 21:24	#29
Spherical Cow Nov 2004 2²·3³·5 Posts	Not a great picture, since the seeing was kind of poor very low on the horizon this morning, but did get the Venus-Jupiter conjunction during a break in the clouds. The cell phone on the 6-inch telescope again, but with the poor seeing, I couldn't zoom in to try to get any of the bands on Jupiter. I also took a normal camera shot of the conjunction and the horizon, and that's the featured picture for Nov 13 on http://spaceweather.com/ . Norm Attached Thumbnails

2018-04-16, 20:54	#30
Spherical Cow Nov 2004 2²·3³·5 Posts	Had to give it a try- I found out that a transit of the space station across the sun would be visible Saturday morning, along a narrow path about a 2.5-hour drive from here. So, a total of 5 hours of driving time for a 0.58 second-long transit. Wasn't sure that the cell phone video on the 6-inch Dob would get it, but sure enough, shows up reasonably well. Video was running at 30 frames per second, and as calculated, it's there in 15 frames- below is one of the last frames before it exited off the disk. Not bad for small Dob and a cell phone, but I've got to get myself some good equipment. Norm Attached Thumbnails

2018-04-17, 22:55	#32
Spherical Cow Nov 2004 2²·3³·5 Posts	OK- let's see if this works- here's a .gif file of the transit of the ISS from the cell phone video file (through a 6-inch telescope). This has been slowed down to 1/2 speed. The actual transit was only 0.5 seconds long; slowing it down helps the visibility a lot. Norm Attached Thumbnails

2017-08-28, 16:59	#28
Spherical Cow Nov 2004 2²·3³·5 Posts	Ah, Yes- Now that you mention it, I remember doing that as well. Must have been the early teens, and with a small telescope, otherwise the eyepiece could heat up enough to crack. I think I had a 2.4 inch refractor from Sears Roebuck that cost all my savings combined with being partially a Christmas present. Great times. Norm

2018-04-16, 20:56	#31
Uncwilly 6809 > 6502 """"""""""""""""""" Aug 2003 101×103 Posts 2³×1,223 Posts	Nice catch!!

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