How Affordable Smart Telescopes Are Changing The Hobby Part 1 of 2

There are some interesting factors to note, about the new, affordable, smart telescopes; and their huge impact on amateur astronomers.

Of course, I’m referring here to The Dwarf 2, and The Seestar S50. These are the two affordable, smart telescopes, which are quite impressive (and affordable!).

It’s quite obvious how welcomed, and useful they are, to experienced Astrophotographers. As I’ve written before, I believe those who have done (or even tried) conventional Astrophotography, will be the ones who appreciate these telescopes the most!

However, there are certain (possibly unexpected) results/outcomes due to the release, and availability of these adorable devices:

• Their simplicity and ease of use, will get folks trying Astrophotography – who might otherwise had never had even considered it. ✔ *Note: This is a confirmed fact - as per the myriad of posts on social media!
• They will be instrumental, in getting visual only astronomers to finally give Astrophotography a chance! ✔ *I've been seeing this too!
• They are sure to get many of those who have left the hobby of Astrophotography back into it. Like me! I'm getting back into AP again!
• I am sure they will also be responsible, for many beginner-level astrophotographers getting involved in conventional/traditional Astrophotography. ✔ Yep!
• And last, but not least, I believe they will get people interested in astronomy, who had never even considered it before. Due to the sheer ease of use of these devices! ✔ Yes! I've seen this too!

Of course, I’ve been involved in visual astronomy for a relatively long time. Once, a long time ago, I figured-out which hobby I'd spent the most money on...And it was astronomy! (visual, at the time). So I figured, it must be the hobby I love most? lol!

This was followed by my foray into conventional Astrophotography. As was mentioned in my story (see this page on Dwarf Labs). In my case, I left the hobby of Astrophotography several times over the years. And again, in my experience, it was my unwillingness to spend so much time in front of a laptop screen, post processing images.

However, there are a multitude of reasons, and many different steps required to complete the final processing of an astrophoto; which some individuals may not be fond of.

For some, it might be the polar alignment of a traditional rig. For someone else, it might be the time required, waiting for the stacking of images to complete. For another, it might be the investment in software, typically required for an Astrophotographer (to get really nice results). Or, the fact that non-image frames need to be taken and organized (darks, biases, flats, etc.). For others, it may simply be the overall expense of the hobby. Who can say?

Everyone is a unique individual, and there can be many reasons why some people avoid conventional Astrophotography. Although generally speaking, these same folks, would really enjoy capturing their own photographs of deep sky objects! - if somehow, it could be done more easily…

And, of course, just so that I don’t leave anyone out – we are aware of many astrophotographers, who still enjoy conventional/traditional Astrophotography as a hobby. Many of these folks still wouldn’t give serious consideration to these new, affordable, smart telescopes. Some of them may tenaciously cling to traditional astrophotography, and might not even consider using a smart telescope, no matter how advanced. And, of course, that’s totally fine too – more power to them. There should be some people still keeping the fine art of traditional astrophotography alive…

I’ll use myself as an example. I’m happy to report, that I own both The Dwarf 2, and The Seestar S50 smart telescopes. I also own several pairs of binoculars, and telescopes for visual observing of deep sky objects (in my case). One of the last things I was involved with, before taking a short break from the hobby – was sketching deep sky objects; using binoculars.

Deciding to buy these smart telescopes was extremely easy for me. As I’m sure it is for many people interested in, or involved in, the hobby of amateur astronomy. So in my particular case, owning and using these remarkable smart telescopes, eventually led me to becoming fully immersed in the hobby again.

I should take this opportunity to remind the reader, that many objects still look very good when observed with optical instruments (visual observing). 

Deep Sky Objects like:

• Open clusters
• Globular clusters
• Large/bright nebulae 
• Planetary nebulae 
• Certain galaxies 

Well, in my case, owning these smart telescopes jump-started my interest in ALL things astronomy-related: Visual, sketching, and...conventional astrophotography!

I've spent the better part of last week, scouring the Web: Trying to figure out which combination of scope + mount + camera to get! 

So, if it's happened to me - there's a good chance it'll happen to many others.

In any case: Suffice it to say, that anything which helps to promote the hobby of amateur astronomy is a good thing!

As it turns out, I'm very happy to report - that I've been given the opportunity to test and write a detailed review of The AM3 Harmonic Drive Mount by ZWO!

Just look at that engraving! See, I love what some might consider the "little touches" or "minor things" I think it looks very classy...

I'm super-excited about it - and I've been busy making preparations, and adding accessories to my Astro Tech 80mm EDT refractor! 

I've purchased: A Guide Scope, Guide Camera, Field Flattener/Reducer (which is a must). I thought about some applications...but you know what? You can do a lot with the free Apps from ZWO! ...And N.I.N.A (which is also free). I did buy a full license for SharpCap and StellarMate.

There has been a lot of red items added to this scope (pics coming soon)…

Thank you, to my friend Scott, for giving me a great deal on this Astro Tech 80mm EDT refractor and Twilight mount! As you can see, it's set-up for visual; this was soon after unboxing. Sky conditions weren't very good, but I did take a quick look at M45; using a vintage, Edmund Scientific 28mm RKE eyepiece. Also a look at Jupiter and it's moons, with an 8mm Edmund RKE eyepiece - And it looked wonderful. Clear and crisp, with excellent color rendition. However, this is going to be my main imaging scope as well! 

In the upcoming Part 2 of this post, I will discuss my experience (in more detail) of exactly what it was like, to have a brand-new GoTo reflector in use, whilst having access to both of these smart telescopes! This was The Sky Watcher 150P GTi Virtuoso, purchased from Amazon (they had a sale).

Very interesting indeed…

Don't forget: In the not-too-distant future, I'll be testing and writing a detailed review of The AM3 Harmonic Mount, which is here on loan from ZWO. It functions as both an equatorial or alt-azimuth, user-selected. Absolutely fascinating mount!

Until next time, clear & steady skies!

Just Sharing Some Recent Images From The Dwarf II (for now)

Just Sharing Some Recent Images From my observatory Dwarf II!

There will be lots of images accompanying my upcoming review of The Dwarf 2 smart telescope...So, I thought I'd share a few now:

What can I say about The Dwarf II? This tiny device produces amazing results!

Affordable, smart telescopes, like The Dwarf 2 - Have changed the hobby of Astrophotography forever!

Galaxy M33 - Directly out of The Dwarf 2 - Zero Processing

The same image - With some processing in PixInsight

Please keep in mind: These images of DSO's, captured by The Dwarf 2, really don't require much post-processing. In other words, you certainly don't need to use expensive software like PixInsight. 

In my experience, some minor post-processing in free software Apps like: Paint.net, Gimp, and especially Siril - allow you to achieve excellent results! And, with less of a chance of "over-processing". Which it seems I may have been on the verge of doing, with the example above, of M33.

Also, the more time you dedicate to capturing images of each object, the better they'll look. The examples here, were very short duration sessions. None of them were much more that 100 images of 15 seconds each.

The following image of The North American Nebula, was accomplished with under 30 exposures:

The North American Nebula NGC 7000 - Straight out of The Dwarf 2 - Zero Processing.

Same image - With minor processing in PixInsight.

Some might be surprised to learn, that The Dwarf 2 was able to image a nebula as small as The Iris - Shown in previous post (below). But, this little unit continues to surprise me. 

The raw image of The Iris Nebula in particular, would benefit from some post-processing... It was taken with The ZWO Duo Band Filter attached. I bought my filter from High Point Scientific. I've ordered from them before, and they have great customer service. I bought my 10" Apertura Dobsonian from them, a couple of years back. And, this Duo Band Filter arrived very quickly.

Until next time,

Clear skies!