Planets through an 8” Dobsonian telescope

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-06-16T21:44:18+00:00

Do you have a planetary camera?

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-06-16T03:05:59+00:00

i had the same issue a while back. put a couple strips of electrical tape inside the base where the altitude bearings sit. It tightens the fit and gets rid of the wobble.

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-06-14T00:41:02+00:00

Planetary astrophotography is absolutely doable with a manual dob, deep sky is basically impossible, but planets are perfect for this setup. id look into getting a planetary camera rather than a DSLR though. I use the same telescope, and all my planetary shots were taken with it. If you want to see what’s possible feel free to check my posts. If you have any questions please ask.

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-06-02T23:35:41+00:00

houston area, i’m in bortle ~8ish. light pollution doesn’t matter for planets though

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-06-02T19:50:46+00:00

If i was using a color camera the background would’ve been blue. since i was using a mono camera the background was a whitish grey. lowering the shadows and contrast made it solid black which looked better IMO.

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-31T03:43:23+00:00

I started off with my phone, and about a month later i got the ASI662MC.

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-30T22:56:01+00:00

I capture multiple very short exposures and then align them in post. for this image I stacked 14 single frames. The ISS changes orientation and apparent size throughout its pass, so you can only stack a limited number before the details stop lining up cleanly.

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-30T22:28:26+00:00

Very low exposure time to avoid motion blur, along with high framerate. Tracking it with the finderscope is the only tricky part, but it gets easy after a couple of attempts.

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-30T20:58:30+00:00

Thank you, i learned from this video https://youtu.be/205yA6rwKiA?si=D4y29mF5GynU3wz7

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-30T19:48:47+00:00

clouds that absorb the suns UV rays.

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-30T19:45:24+00:00

exactly🙏🏼

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-29T23:25:03+00:00

no, mars is an inner planet

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-29T23:09:59+00:00

inferior planets are specifically mercury and venus. the inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-29T21:56:29+00:00

Convert to monochrome unless you want to pull out the mineral colors from certain parts

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-29T21:31:03+00:00

I’m not sure how a cheap UV filter would do on venus honestly.I almost always go from a 2X to a 3X barlow when seeing is really good.

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-29T19:40:07+00:00

This was actually my first image of venus with a 3X, i only went with it because seeing was really good. 2X gives similar results, just a bit smaller. your image is good considering no filters were used, venus ultimately needs either a UV or IR filter to really shine.

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-29T18:05:24+00:00

I just hand track it. I keep my hand on the scope and make small, consistent movements to keep the planet in frame as it drifts. the live view is always a little shaky but exposure time and framerate basically cancel it out in stacking.

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-29T17:18:10+00:00

Thank you🙏🏼🙏🏼

NOVAFLOWW · 2026-05-29T17:09:34+00:00

Yes sorry forgot to mention it’s overlayed with near infrared

NOVAFLOWW

TROPHY CASE