brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Hi everyone... I have been away from UHH for a while... been working on a new project...
recently picked up a 10" OTA Newtonian reflector scope at a new local store... only paid $200 and new telescope...
the name of the store is "Bargain Hunt" which started in the south and they have been slowly working north...
I was lucky enough to have one moved into my neck of the woods about 10 minutes from my house.
They buy bulk from other stores and from Amazon and soon to be buying from Best Buy...

Here is a hand held photo of the Moon that I took by holding the cellphone up next to the telescope eyepiece...
can't wait until I get a rig that can adapt my cellphone to the telescope to do stills and videos...
the quality of my photos should improve a great deal as soon as I get an adapter for my cellphone
and the Moon is out again in a favorable position...

I hope to get back on UHH again soon with more regularity!

See Download View...(slightly closer crop)

(Download)

See Download View..(lighter version)

(Download)

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

Darn good shots
Looks like you scored a great scope.
Welcome back.

ejrmaine Loc: South Carolina

Amazing shots for this setup.

:thumbup: :thumbup:

nikonshooter Loc: Spartanburg, South Carolina

Wow! Excellent detail and contrast! Which begs the question, just how good can these mobile phones cameras get. Our Photo Guild has monthly contests with different themes.....about two years ago, we added a category images taken with cellphones only. It blows my mind just how good these images are.

dlmorris Loc: Loma Linda, Ca

Those are pretty amazing! Really good!

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks Jim... much appreciated...

You were "Spot On" when you said "Why does new Astronomy equipment attract clouds like a cloud magnet? Buy a new scope and clouds line up for days to get a look at it".

They are predicting 3 weeks of cloudy weather here after I got my new scope... it always happens no matter what! I just got a sneak peak through the clouds when I snapped the Moon photos with my cell phone while trying out my new "Orion $200 OTA 10" Newtonian scope... no chance to set up my 6D DSLR to grab a much better shot... and I am plagued with too many trees with only a few spots here and there to grab a glimpse of the night sky when it it clear!

I have another 10" scope that has been taken apart and stored in the garage... the mirror was silver coated instead of being aluminized for increased reflectance... silver didn't stand up as well as aluminum and it oxidized over the years... I was thinking of having it resurfaced and then I tripped over this new 10" f/4.7 for $200 and thought it was better and cheaper than having my old 10" f/8.0 resurfaced. I am anxious for good seeing weather so I can give my new scope a good work out, test it, and take a ton of pics...

P.S. Only the telescope tube is in the garage... I am using my old home-made heavy duty tripod for the new Orion 10" scope... the old 10" mirror and mount is stored in a sealed plastic storage box in my bedroom closet...

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Stunning detail Bruce!
Can't wait for you to get a mount for your camera.
Great Telescope! :mrgreen:

The Scenario, Phone mounted to eyepiece:

Ring, ring....
Hello?
Hi! How are you this evening? This is Jeff with Super Pollution Security Glare Lighting.
Not interested.
How about we come out and do a survey to see how many Kilowatts of lighting we can hang on your house? You will be able to pick your house out from outer space...
Listen Jeff, you are in my shot. End Call...

Chime, Chime...
Text coming in...

Sigh... cloud cover closing the sky. :?

Using my phone's camera... Hummm, I should try that! ;)

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Again Bruce they are great shots for the setup you used.
Craig

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks ejrmaine... much appreciated...

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks nikonshooter... much appreciated... waiting for a clear Moonlit night to grab more Moon shots and preferably before the full Moon...

northcoast42 Loc: Puget Sound, Washington

Very nice shots Bruce...amazing for a cellphone! Sounds like you got a steal on the 10" Newtonian. I'm waiting for that special adaptor to stick my 150-600mm lens on my i-phone :lol:
Makes me think technology will one day (perhaps not too far off) create a cell phone camera as capable as a DSLR.

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks Dave... much appreciated... hope I can get better pics soon...

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks Sonny... much appreciated...

I Jerry-Rigged my old cellphone and an old eyepiece together to use in my scope but the weather has Jerry-Rigged clouds and rain over my house for a week now... might get one or two clear nights in the near future but the Moon won't be viewable or worth viewing for another week or two!

I used a cellphone selfie-stick head, an old Samsung 3 phone that I had laying around, an old Criterion eyepiece that came with my 34 year old Dynamax 8 SCT, and some rubber bands for insurance... luckily the eyepiece was just the right size, after going through 15 eyepieces, and the eyepiece is actually held securely against the old Otter Box phone case without it's rubber jacket.

See Cellphone Astro Camera below... :mrgreen:;)8-)

P.S. I actually took about 15-20 handheld pics and the 2 pics posted above were the best... the other pics were from fair to awful...

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

That's great Bruce!

The other day while trying out my terrestrial shots, my scenario came to life.
A ringing phone mounted to my telescope. It was the wife, so I answered it and put her on speaker-phone.
But I was thinking of you and this thread as it unfolded. :lol:

Something to bear in mind is that cell phones tend to need upgraded from time to time.
With that comes a newer and better camera as well. ;)

Thank You for the inspiration to try. :)

Taking various imagery through a cell phone also puts it on my Dropbox account, so family and friends can share there in our instant world.
Others from the other night.
When you touch the wrong button, you get a selfy... :lol:

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

That's great Bruce looks like fun.
Craig