Astrophotography with an Apple iPhone
Astrophotography with an Apple iPhone
by , 3:05 PM EST, January 2nd, 2008
An advanced amateur astronomer, Michael Weasner, took a photograph of the full moon on Christmas Eve, 2007 with a Meade ETX telescope and an Apple iPhone.
The photo was taken near Tucson, Arizona, using a Meade ETX-70 refractor and a 9 mm eyepiece (39x). The iPhone was placed behind the eyepiece in what's called "afocal" mode. This photograph, which is not the first instance of an astronomical photo with an Apple iPhone, nevertheless shows what an experienced amateur astronomer can do with a small telescope and the camera in Apple's mobile phone.
The photograph is un-retouched except for resizing. The iPhone EXIF file did not record an exposure time, but did indicate f/2.8.
![]() Full Moon, December 24th, 2007, with Apple iPhone and Meade ETX-70 |
|---|
The iPhone is not suitable for long-duration astrophotography, but for a bright object like the moon and a short exposure, decent results can be obtained. Other cell phones have also been used for such informal photography, but the delight of using an iPhone for astrophotography is hard to resist.
![]() Meade ETX-70 refractor |
|---|
Mr. Weasner is a noted amateur astronomer who founded The Mighty ETX Website and has published "Using the Meade ETX:100 Objects You Can Really See with the Mighty ETX" (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series)
Observer Comments
Comments are currently closed. Please email the author instead.
Recent Headlines - Updated February 9th
- Tue, 6:27 PM
- iPad - Apple Job Posting Hints at a Camera in Future iPads
- 6:22 PM
- Product News - Apple Releases Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.0
- 6:18 PM
- Product News - Apple Updates iLife ‘09 with Aperture 3 Support, Slideshow Performance
- 4:53 PM
- News - Google Introduces “Buzz” Social Information Sharing Service
- 4:19 PM
- Just a Thought - iPad: A Reason For Being
- 3:28 PM
- News - Google Lowers Nexus One “Equipment Recovery Fee” to $150
- 2:27 PM
- Deal Brothers - Refurbished 13” MacBook 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo: $749
- 1:31 PM
- Jeff Gamet's Blog - Macworld Expo: It’s Our Show, Not Apple’s
- 10:38 AM
- Quick Look Review - Texas Tea for the iPhone and iPod touch
- 10:25 AM
- News - Apple Rolls Out Aperture 3 Video Tutorials
- 10:00 AM
- Hot Forum Topic - Backing Up Your iPhoto Library
- 9:35 AM
- Product News - Notebook, iThoughts Add TextExpander touch Support
The Mac Observer Reader Specials
- TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
RamJet Memory: Mac Pro 8GB Kit $275.99, Mac Pro 4GB Kits $145.99! Sale on MacBook and MacBook Pro 8GB kits $459.99! MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac Mac mini 4GB Kits for $113.99! 1TB SATA Hard Drives for $109.99! Click here- If you own a car, you need CarMD! Catch problems, estimate repairs and more. Now for Mac. $98.99 at www.CarMD.com Save $10 with code TMO1.
If you're using a Mac, then you've gotta check out Full Tilt Poker for Mac. This Full Tilt Poker bonus code does the unthinkable, it actually rewards!For the latest Apple products use Ciao, a price comparison website, to find laptops like MacBook Air. Then find the best prices on MP3 players and use our comparison tool to evaluate mobile phones like the Apple iPhone.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.




