Smart Telescope

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dinny_g
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by dinny_g »

Brian Cox thinks we're the only ones here, but I guess that depends on the definition of "one" - Hooloovoo anyone ??? ;)

Anyway, brilliant pics Mito - I'm very tempted by that... (*)

(*) although there's still a nagging doubt that it's not actually taking those images but instead, the "optics" are just actually just accurate surveying tools to figure out exactly which bit of sky you're looking at and then just returning you a stock image from a Chinese Database, amended to local conditions :lol:
JLv3.0 wrote: Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:26 pm I say this rarely Dave, but listen to Dinny because he's right.
Rich B wrote: Thu Jun 02, 2022 1:57 pm but Dinny was right…
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Swervin_Mervin
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Swervin_Mervin »

Prof Brian Cox is a pillock.
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mik
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by mik »

Has anyone checked how good @Mito Man is with Microsoft Paint? :?
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JonMad
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by JonMad »

That looks astoundingly good @Mito Man
Did you do anything different when you got that last lot of images?
Left over crest; tightens.
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GG.
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by GG. »

I can't remember if this was originally a recommendation from someone one here but if you're into home astrophotography then this guy is a great watch:

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Mito Man
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Mito Man »

Samsung uses AI to compare your images to those in their own library and then enhances it, so you get unrealistically good pictures of stuff like the moon. This telescope doesn’t do anything that sophisticated, it’s not even connected to the internet when it’s imaging, and when you use it in real time it does make sense as to what is happening.
I’ve also had a few bad pictures out of it, quickly learned that there’s no point in even pointing it vaguely in the direction of the moon, as it won’t capture much detail.

I’ve done a few things since the first set of images to improve things.
- Bought a 3D printed Bhatinov mask to improve focusing.
- Longer exposure times for nebulas - figured out I can just leave the telescope on overnight. Its battery lasts about 5 hours, it turns itself off at 10% battery and folds itself.
Just leave it on to do its thing even if you have clouds rolling in and out. It will discard all the images with clouds automatically.
- Use the iPhone edit -> auto setting which does a good job on improving the contrast.
I also always crop them a bit as the edges of the image have noise/field rotation.
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Ascender
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Ascender »

Would you mind sharing the link to which one you bought please @Mito Man?

The lack of light pollution up here means I'm getting some nice pictures with just the iPhone in night mode, but I'd really like something like this and the price seems too good to be true?
Cheers,

Mike.
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mik
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by mik »

Ascender wrote: Fri Oct 04, 2024 3:22 pm Would you mind sharing the link to which one you bought please @Mito Man?
He did - on page 1 - https://store.seestar.com/?_src=ssos
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Mito Man
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Mito Man »

Yes that’s it.

If you want to get a better idea of things then download the phone app “Seestar”
It has a ‘nearby’ tab which then opens the world map and you can see the quality of pictures taken from locations near you
Image
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Ascender
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Ascender »

mik wrote: Fri Oct 04, 2024 3:27 pm
Ascender wrote: Fri Oct 04, 2024 3:22 pm Would you mind sharing the link to which one you bought please @Mito Man?
He did - on page 1 - https://store.seestar.com/?_src=ssos
Thanks @mik, was multi-tasking badly and managed to miss that at least twice while looking for it.
Cheers,

Mike.
RobYob
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by RobYob »

Not so "smart" but I recently bought a Solar filter for my little reflector. Daytime observations have been good fun, the spots change every day and maybe some day I'll see a mass ejection.
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Ascender
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Ascender »

It’s arrived… very quick shipping although I did lose the customs lottery and it’s cloudy as shit! Maybe tomorrow night.
Cheers,

Mike.
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Mito Man
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Mito Man »

Might wanna turn it on and let it do its firmware update - takes a while iirc.
Also you need to go into the settings each time and turn on the anti dew heater.
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Ascender
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Ascender »

Mito Man wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2024 9:21 pm Might wanna turn it on and let it do its firmware update - takes a while iirc.
Also you need to go into the settings each time and turn on the anti dew heater.
Thanks, will make sure to do that. Firmware update sorted and good to go. Will have a look later on to see if things have cleared up.
Cheers,

Mike.
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Ascender
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Ascender »

So, this has to be witchcraft right? Or as someone said, a bunch of library images...

Image
Cheers,

Mike.
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nuttinnew
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by nuttinnew »

8-)
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GG.
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by GG. »

Ascender wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2024 9:19 am So, this has to be witchcraft right? Or as someone said, a bunch of library images...
Not really. The key is just long exposures and stacking. Its a different thing entirely to visual stargazing.

That photo is OK but not all that sharp in reality.
Last edited by GG. on Fri Oct 18, 2024 9:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Mito Man
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Mito Man »

I took a Timelapse of the full moon a while ago, could see the clouds go past and on playback I noticed the rotation of the earth.
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Mito Man
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Mito Man »

The moon pics aren’t stacked, they’re regular single photographs.
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Ascender
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Re: Smart Telescope

Post by Ascender »

GG. wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2024 9:48 am
Ascender wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2024 9:19 am So, this has to be witchcraft right? Or as someone said, a bunch of library images...
Not really. The key is just long exposures and stacking. Its a different thing entirely to visual stargazing.

That photo is OK but not all that sharp in reality.
Yes, I was wondering about the sharpness if that's just the limit of the hardware or can be tweaked in settings.
Cheers,

Mike.
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