iPhone Moon Astrophotography

iPhone Moon Astrophotography

Posted: 24 May 2021

Saturday, 22 May 2021, was clear but very windy during the day. Did not open the observatory that night. Sunday, 23 May, was clear and calmer.

Open: Sunday, 23 May 2021, 1824 MST
Temperature: 85°F

Session: 1638
Conditions: Clear, breezy

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 30mm eyepiece
2" 9mm 100° eyepiece

Camera:
iPhone 11 Pro Max

1829 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed Venus, 102X. The planet was a bright, nearly full phase, disk.

Viewed the waxing gibbous Moon, 102X.

1835 MST: began relaxing on the observatory patio bench after a hectic day of announcing that my autobiography, Finding my Way to the Stars, had been published.

Took this iPhone photograph of the Moon from the bench using the Camera app (2X lens).

1905 MST: viewed the Moon again, 102X and 81X.

Took this handheld iPhone afocal 81X photo of the Moon in the bright blue sky using the Camera app.

1921 MST: after relaxing some more on the bench, I returned to the 12" telescope.

1924 MST: sunset. Calm now.

1927 MST: viewed the planet Mercury, 102X. A nice thin crescent phase was visible.

Then did some lunar observing, 271X. The craters Aristarchus and Copernicus were very nice at this high magnification.

Mounted the iPhone 11 Pro Max on the 2" 9mm 100° eyepiece using the Levenhuk adapter. Took this afocal 271X photo using NightCap Camera (ISO 32, 1/610sec, 1X lens) of the craters Aristarchus (left) and Copernicus (right).

Smoke from a new wildfire 12 miles south of Kitt Peak National Observatory (65 miles from Cassiopeia Observatory) was visible in the sky along the horizon from the south-southeast to west to north. This iPhone photo (0.5X lens, cropped) shows the smoke from the southwest to the northwest.

Did some more Moon observing, 271X and 102X.

1949 MST: LX600 OFF.

Close: Sunday, 23 May 2021, 1958 MST
Temperature: 67°F

Session Length: 1h 34m
Conditions: Clear

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