The Mac Observer

Skip navigational links

You're viewing an article in TMO's historic archive vault. Here, we've preserved the comments and how the site looked along with the article. Use this link to view the article on our current site:
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

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Comment on this Article

Comments are currently closed. Please email the author instead.


Recent Headlines - Updated March 22nd

Mon, 9:20 AM
iPad - Kindle for iPad, Other Tablets, On the Way
8:45 AM
News - Analyst Uncovers 20 Security-related Flaws in Safari
8:16 AM
Product News - Tidal Pool Intros ContactBook for iPhone
Sun, 5:53 PM
Apple Context Machine Podcast - ACM 165: Jerome York, the iPad and Media, iCon, & Bryan on the Road
Fri, 5:55 PM
Games - Namco Releases Match-Three Game Tinseltown Dreams to the App Store
5:16 PM
News - iPad Launch Day Deadline for Developers: March 27
5:11 PM
News - Steve Jobs Helps Promote Organ Donor Legislation
4:06 PM
iPad - VIVmag Shows Off Interactive iPad Version in the Works
3:07 PM
App Store - Microsoft Yanks Bing App From Foreign App Stores
2:05 PM
iObserver - Analysts Downgrade Troubled Palm Amid Severe Revenue Drop
1:35 PM
In-Depth Review - PhoneSuite MiLi Packs a Powerful Punch
1:11 PM
News - YouTube to Viacom: Sue Yourself

The Mac Observer Reader Specials

  • __________
  • Buy Stuff, Support TMO!
  • Podcast: Mac Geek Gab
  • Podcast: Apple Weekly Report
  • TMO on Twitter!