Was totally wrong about using my phone for night sky photos

I spent like two years thinking you needed a $2000 camera to get any decent shot of stars or the moon. Kept seeing these incredible astro photos online and figured I just couldn't do it with my iPhone. Then last week I downloaded a free app called NightCap and tried a 30 second exposure on a tripod I borrowed from a buddy. Got a picture of the Orion Nebula that actually showed its fuzzy cloud shape, not just a dot. I was honestly shocked it worked that well. Has anyone else had a cheap setup totally change what you thought was possible?

4 comments

4 Comments

lewis.brian10d ago

steady hands against the eyepiece" - which phone mount do you use for that?

stellat4610d ago

Orion Nebula actually showed its fuzzy cloud shape" with just a phone? What phone model do you have?

avery_flores10d ago

Have you tried holding the phone steady against a telescope eyepiece?

mark_green10d agoMost Upvoted

Ha yeah I got a decent shot of it too with my Pixel 7! Just had to play with the pro mode settings a bit. And @avery_flores is right, steady hands against the eyepiece makes a huge difference.