This is a running stream of my journey through astrophotography. It is reverse chronological, so the latest images and thoughts are first. I decided to post them all here, in one page, instead of in multiple blog posts because some thoughts may not warrant a whole page for itself. When I feel like it makes sense I will create a separate blog post for something and link to it from here.

First Quarter Moon – 2025/01/06

Celestron Nexstar 60 with iPhone up to eyepiece (there’s a term for this and I will find it).

Here’s a video which I tried to run through Lynkeos to stack and try to stabilize but failed.

Saturn Attempt – Waxing Crescent 39.1% – 2025/01/05

Saturn is supposed to be near the moon tonight and the Celestron site claims the 60 can show the planet’s rings. I tried but was unable to resolve the planet into sharp enough to discern any rings. I did not try to take a picture since I am still using the iPhone pressed up against the eye piece and this causes a slight movement which makes the photo blurry and an object that looks as small as Saturn did would just be a blurry blob. I decided to take another picture of the moon.

Venus – Moon Occultation – 2025/01/04

Some time ago, maybe a year or more, someone was giving away a telescope and I snagged it. It’s a Celestron Nextstar 60. It had been stored outside for months and is a little bit banged up. The hood of the eyepiece is broken, there was dust in all the crevices, and it had no hand controller. So, I have to move it manually and fight against the unpowered motor inside. After sitting in my garage for more than I year, untouched, I finally brought it out tonight to look at the Venus Moon occultation, and was surprised at how much detail of the moon I can get with this piece of equipment.

I took this picture with my iPhone up against the eyepiece and, again, was surprised that I was even able to get it. I will be investing in some more equipment to fill this out and will post more pictures.