Astrophotography with a Dobsonian Telescope

How to Do (Some) Astrophotography with your Apertura Dobsonian

Astrophotography can be a daunting experience. Generally, we do NOT recommend doing astrophotography with your Dobsonian telescope, as the lack of a tracking mount or an equatorial mount will make long exposures impossible. That being said, photographs of the Moon, planets, and very short exposures of bright nebulae are doable with the right expectations. In this article, we’ll be talking about some shots you can take through your Apertura Dobsonian.

Why is astrophotography with my Dobsonian not recommended?

The biggest disadvantage to most Dobsonians is the lack of tracking. The Earth rotates at a little over 1,000 miles per hour. While this motion does not appear obvious to us, by increasing the magnification the spin of the Earth becomes more apparent. As a result, stars will appear streaked from the Earth’s rotation at higher magnifications. It is impossible to correct this without a proper tracking mount, preferably a german equatorial mount to prevent field-of-view rotation. However, with some expectation setting, basic astrophotography with your Dobsonian is possible.

What do I need to be able to do astrophotography with my Dobsonian?

That depends entirely on what you’re looking to do. If you’re looking to photograph the Moon or take short exposures of the night sky, your smartphone will be sufficient for basic images. To be able to use your smartphone, you’ll need to buy an adapter like the Apertura Smartphone Adapter or the Celestron NexYZ Universal 3-Axis Smartphone Adapter. Once you attach and align your smartphone camera to your eyepiece, it’s a simple matter of taking a quick snap on your phone’s camera app, like Slow Shutter Cam for iOS or similar for Android.

A DSLR will also bring good images; however, it’s strongly recommended you check if your telescope will reach focus with a DSLR. Oftentimes, “prime focus” in a Dobsonian (or the point where the telescope will reach focus with your camera) cannot be reached as the point of focus is too close to your telescope tube for the focuser to reach without a Barlow. The Barlow lens serves to bring the prime focus away from your telescope OTA and closer to your camera. The downside is that you’re also significantly increasing your magnification, making longer exposures more difficult.

You’ll also need some adapters for your DSLR to be able to attach to your focuser. These adapters take the place of your camera lens. You’ll need to purchase an M42 or M48 T-ring for your DSLR, depending on whether it is a standard or full frame camera body. We’d recommend an Apertura M42 or M48 T-Ring for your Nikon or Canon DSLR. You’ll then need a T-Mount that threads directly into the T-Ring, like the Baader Planetarium T-2 Nose Piece.

How to Photograph the Moon with your Dobsonian

As mentioned above, if you’re looking to do smartphone astrophotography, you’ll only need to buy an adapter for your telescope eyepiece. Simply put your camera up to the eyepiece with the adapter and take a quick snap! You’ll find that the images your smartphone can get of the Moon are nearly as stunning as what you can see through the eyepiece.

You can also use a DSLR to take photographs of the Moon through your Dobsonian. Some of the best photographs of the Moon have been taken through Dobsonian telescopes without any tracking. The secret to doing this is through composites. By taking a bunch of close-up shots through your Dobsonian with a Barlow lens to increase the magnification, you can use a program like Microsoft Image Composite Editor to create a stunning composite of the Moon.