So I was one of the many who got tempted when the Seestar dropped to $399 in price early this year. I figured at that price it was a steal no matter how it performed. I have no expectations that it will even equal the photo's I can acquire via my various telescopes and cameras but I wanted something very small and portable for when my wife and I traveled as well as a nice EAA unit when I have star parties and do public viewing. That was the idea. My Seestar S50 arrived from the fine folks at Agena Astro yesterday and last night and this morning I had the chance to run it through its initial paces.
I have to say I'm quite impressed. I'd read there were some possible issues connecting to the new iPhone 15 Pro Max, which I actually purchased last week, but setup and operation went perfect with no hiccups. The image I have uploaded today is obviously M27. What is a tad amazing is this is just a 2 minute shot. 24 x 10" subs using the internal NB filter. It is not centered perfect but that was my mistake not the Seestar. I exported the .fit image from the Seestar and then ran it through the follow post process loop:
PixInsight -> DBE first with NXT and BXT from RC Astro. I then exported a .tiff file and opened it up in Photoshop and did some light processing using Levels, Saturation and Curves.
This was taken in my backyard in Phoenix with a 1/4 moon in the exact background from this object. I'm quite please with how it came out. Below is a side by side comparison of the .jpg the Seestar generates for your phone and a repeat of my post processed M27. Comes out quite nice I think.
Comments