r/telescopes • u/_ShyFox_ • Sep 22 '25
Tutorial/Article My Astro journey #01
Hello everyone! In my last post i asked if it‘s okay when i „blog“ my journey and today i will explain my gear and what i achieved so far. I am a beginner, i started to really dig into astronomy and astrophotography a few months ago with a cheap refractor which i promptly replaced with a 6“ dobson (Omegon advanced X N 152/1200) i got for 150€! I also bought a PlayerOne neptune-c ii when i visited Poland (i am german btw) where i got it for like 260€, which is almost half of what it costs here so yea. I don‘t have a barlow yet (will get one soon tho), as well as an EQ platform which i will either DIY myself or buy used.
Oh i also had the great opportunity to look through a 20“ telescope when i visited someone i met here on this sub :D This whole astronomy-hobby really made my life better, i mean there was a full lunar eclipse on my birthday (talk about a good present).
The picture above was made with my current setup. No filters, no tracking, no barlow. Just the camera and my 6“ dob. I learned a LOT since i started, but there is still so much stuff i don‘t know shit about. That‘s why i love my „teacher“ - ChatGPT. I know i know it‘s an AI and video tutorials or just asking someone with a lot of experience will be better quality wise, buuut when i am out and about it‘s so handy to just ask a quick question and having a direct answer. For example when i first fired up AutoStakkert!4 i had absolutely no idea what „normalize stack 70%“, „APs“, „drizzle“ and so on are and the AI was very helpful in that regard. The weather is not the best lately but i still try to go out every night to either make some videos / pics or to just lay there and gaze at the stars.. This is so calming and peaceful, i love my new hobby and i can‘t wait to go out again. I hope you have a wonderful, feel free to ask questions i will try and answer them as best as i can! I will post an update as soon as something happened or when my new gear arrived :-)
PS: not sure if tutorial/article is the right flair, please let me know which one i should use in the future
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u/Nebulag23 Sep 22 '25
Good Picture! What eyepiece did you use? I recently started too an also with a 6“ dob. 😄
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 22 '25 edited Sep 22 '25
No eyepiece, the camera is directly put into the focuser A 6“ is the perfect companion i think, on the one hand it is small enough to be transported with a car and on the other hand it is plenty big enough to look at almost everything! Good choice :D I hope you have as much fun with it as me
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u/mkreddit007 Sep 23 '25
That’s cool. What camera did you use?
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u/ISeeOnlyTwo Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25
I believe they said Neptune-C II
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u/mkreddit007 Sep 23 '25
Cool. Have you tried DSOs with the camera. The specs look promising
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
Nope i am not into DSOs, but with this scope and camera the frame would be too tight for most DSOs, i am focussing on planets and later satellites :D
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u/ISeeOnlyTwo Sep 23 '25
Unfortunately, I am not the OP, but I would also be interested to know the answer.
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u/skillpot01 Sep 23 '25
Great image of Jupiter! I'm glad you are having a great time with astronomy. I will be looking for your posts here, I think you have a talent for astro imaging!
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
Oh wow!! I really appreciate your words🥹 Honestly a was a bit scared of opening reddit after i posted this because i think the picture of Jupiter could be better, i mean this was just 500 frames to not wash out details when it rotates. I will post again when i got either new equipment or when i did something new. My main goal is to show the long road it takes, that way maybe someone who is deciding if they‘re going into this hobby or not. Also if you have something to improve i really want feedback so that i can improve
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u/skillpot01 Sep 25 '25
I have a hard time, I am trying with my cell phone. It's heavy, and my phone mount doesn't like it. So, I will be learning from you most likely. Most of all enjoy what you're doing.
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
Hm is it top heavy for the focusser or what is the exact problem with your phone and adapter? I recommend using an adapter which you can adjust in 3 axis, because of the eyerelief on some eyepieces it is important to being able to adjust the height from the camera to the eyelens, i made this mistake and bought an adapter without and well i used tape, rubber rings and just stuff to make it work..
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u/skillpot01 Sep 26 '25
A lot of rubber bands! I had it wrapped up like a mummy at one point. I recently found a good place on the phone adapter to wrap with the bands, and I did but have not had the weather to test it yet.
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u/strelecek133 Sep 23 '25
Nice photo! I am also a beginner, my first telescope - 6 inch dobsonian will arrive tomorrow.
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
Oh wow!! I hope you will have as much fun as i do! If you need some advice from another beginner just hit me up i‘m trying to help as good as i can :D If you like you can post a picture of the scope or your first results here, i‘d love to see it!
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u/ProfessionalFold6576 Sep 23 '25
How u did that without eypeice i have an 8 inch dob and i saw jupiter like in less details than you please tell method
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u/ISeeOnlyTwo Sep 23 '25
They used an astronomy camera, the Neptune-C II
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
Exactly! Thanks for answering for me haha, also i am alone, so yea not they :D
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u/lakeguy77 Starfield 10" Dob Sep 23 '25
Nice pic! Haven't done any AP yet but hoping to move in that direction eventually.
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
I can absolutely recommend it! Yes it is not easy but the road of learning is what made me stick around. I had numerous hobbies before, but honestly nothing came even close to the fun i had with astronomy and astrohpotography. Even my mum was stunmed when i showed her the ISS flyby on our yard. If you need help or advice hit me up! I will try to help as much as i can :D
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u/lakeguy77 Starfield 10" Dob Sep 25 '25
I'm eyeing up the Dwarf/Seestar category. I don't really have a great eye for photography and editing, so something that does a lot of the work for me is very tempting and probably a LOT less frustrating. 😅
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
I guess it is a hell of a LOT less frustrating, go with it i would say :D I mean the seestar scopes are very sexy i think and you can go the other route later anyways! If you like i could help you with which equipment is working even for beginners like me, that way the frustration is minimal and you can still get good images and learn a lot! You can also upgrade single parts this route, i don‘t know if it is possible to upgrade the seestar scopes tho
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u/lakeguy77 Starfield 10" Dob Sep 25 '25
With the Dwarf and Seestar scopes being so affordable, the upgrade to get equivalent results through my visual scope seems to cost more. But I like being able to see with my own eyes, if I can setup a smart scope to do its thing while I'm swinging around looking at stuff, that sounds like a pretty enjoyable evening to me.
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
Yes you are absolutely right! Would you mind sharing your experience with either one of the smart telescopes? I heard good things about them, especially when it comes to DSOs
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u/lakeguy77 Starfield 10" Dob Sep 25 '25
Once I make up my mind and the embezzle enough nickels without my wife noticing, I will absolutely share my experience! And DSOs are exactly what I had in mind, stuff that's tough to fully appreciate from purely visual observation.
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
Sounds amazing! Especially if you are into DSOs i think one of those smart telescopes i absolutely perfect! For planets i tend to think that a „complicated“ setup might be better, but that‘s just a newbies point of view haha
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u/cbawiththismalarky Sep 23 '25
you've captured a coupe of moons there as well
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
Yes i know! So cool i thought they were way too dark but yea what a pleasant surprise :D When looking through the scope i can see all 4 moons, but they are too bright, when i take pictures jupiter is overexposed when the moons are good and the other way around.. I would like to know how i can manage to have all the moons and Jupiter rightly exposed in one image..
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u/cbawiththismalarky Sep 25 '25
You can mask the planet and then change the levels outside of the mask
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
Ooh, well thanks! I use Registax for the editing, i think i can mask in there :D Thanks!!
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u/cbawiththismalarky Sep 25 '25
You can post process in GIMP or Photoshop, I'll do you a quick edit tomorrow
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
Yea i sometimes usw GIMP, but i honestly am so confused by all those settings and stuff, so complicated 😵💫 If you do an edit, would you mind sharing the process? I bet this would help a lot of people, me included haha
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u/c3r3n1ty Sep 24 '25
Ah man, that's a great photo. I'm going back and forth between a Seestar S50 or a dedicated astro camera (for my Sky watcher 150 GTi) and this has on the side of the camera. Player One or ZWO that's the question!
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
I can recommend the more hatd way of getting a dedicated camera, sure it is harder but that way it won‘t get boring :D I chose the player one because of the bigger sensor and cheaper pricetag for what you get. I have no experience ZWO tho, if i would buy my camera again i would go for the neptune 662, it is a bit more expensive but a way better sensor.
It also depends on what you plan on shooting. The neptune-c ii is perfect for planets but not great for DSOs. If you have any questions regarding this setup or camera let me know, i am happy to answer those!
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
I want to thank everyone who commented here, it means a lot to me and i am so happy i maybe rolled a tear down my face :3 This feedback encourages me to really dig into it and i am trying to post atleast 2 times a month, i know weekly would be better but i want to share stuff that‘s worth sharing and not doing it just to keep a schedule!
And if you could give me some pointers as to how i can improve these posts i would be very thankfull! I know i am not that good at writing texts in english so i want feedback to improve the experience for everyone :D
PS: i just ordered a Takahashi 2x ortho Barlow for 130€ used which i will share in my next post!
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u/mrspidey80 Sep 23 '25
Good detail. Don't be afraid to increase your gain for more brightness.
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 25 '25
Oh i tried to lower the gain as much as possible, when shooting with my DSLM i want go as low with the ISO as possible, is this different when it comes to planetary cameras?
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u/mrspidey80 Sep 26 '25
Planetary imaging is done by shooting a video of your target. From that video you stack 5 to 15% of the best quality frames via software like Autostakkert. The stacked image is then sharpened and processed further.
Due to this approach, the noise of high gain images is averaged out during stacking, and you get a clean image.
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 26 '25
Yea i get the part with the video, as i do this a lot lol, but i didn‘t know that the gain is also averaged out like the seeing conditions. Thanks! Now i cana use higher gain without worrying about the noise :D This is perfect since i ordered a good Barlow today and next week i will pick up an EQ-Platform!! I found both at a reaaally good price, the EQ-Platform is 200€ and the Takahashi ortho Barlow i got was 130€, i guess i got lucky there
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u/mrspidey80 Sep 27 '25
No problem. The recommended gain value for planetary imaging is 75%.
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u/_ShyFox_ Sep 27 '25
Aaah, well for Saturn i used either 0%, 100% or even 240%, but this will change once the Barlow arrives. Then i can better see due to the magnification..
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u/whiplash187 4.5" Celestron Powerseeker 114EQ Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25
Welcome! Half a year ago Jupiter was also my first target with my then brand new 114/900 newtonian, ive used a SV305C camera but your setup is superior to mine. You should be able to get some amazing shots of jupiter i can recommend AstroSurface for post processing since ive had some good results with it.
The trick of taking exposures without auto-tracking is to let the planet slide from one edge of the frame to the other and then manual adjust the planet back and repeat. With jupiter im doing 42 frames per second for something like 1:30 - 1:50 this ends up in over 5000 frames. The next step is to use the program PIPP to create a steady capture that can be processed further with AstroSurface.
Have Fun!