Why smart telescopes are the future of astrophotography (2022)

Serious EAA (electronically assisted astronomy) users would probably get something like a Rowe-Ackerman-Schmidt Astrograph from Celestron with a ZWO camera, which isn’t even that expensive by astronomy standards, but I’d say the Nikon partnership with Unistellar suggests they see a market opportunity.

Indeed.

It forces the question: What is the point of amateur astrophotography?

If you just want to admire the results, go to https://welcome.astrobin.com/ for photos that are better than most people will ever have time or budget to accomplish in a lifetime.

So if you want to do it yourself, the end result is not the point of doing it.

The process of doing it yourself is really the only point, to enjoy doing it. The journey is the destination in astrophotography.

Since these automatic telescope cameras bypass the human process they fail at delivering that enjoyment and they also fail at delivering the end result quality.

So what is the purpose?

Why take pictures of trees? The ocean? flowers? Why catch a fish in a seeded pond? Why go to the zoo?

I don't think it's about getting the absolute perfect shot of the moon, but capturing an absolutely perfect shot of the moon in this moment, at this place; that kinda vibe. This holds even more true for distant celestial objects that you can clearly see in your telescope but look like a blur with your otherwise untuned camera.

if you go a step down on the automation ladder it’s quite a fun (if expensive) tech hobby, I use a raspberry pi to control my mount, an automated focus system, guiding system, and then get to learn about stacking and processing the images I capture. Plus it’s hobby I can do at night, at home (which helps with 3 young kids!).

The article makes a point of this further down:

“However, the core of that argument is that if you’re going to sit passively inside looking at a smartphone then you might as well be looking at images on the Internet.”

> Of course, some technique is required to setup one’s gear but that’s part of the experience

The most boring and annoying part: aligning the telescope with true north, leveling it, and then looking for your object.

> and allows one to do things this kind of automated telescopes can’t.

Which things? I was never able to get good photos of faint object with my manual telescope. With EV scopes it's easy. And you really can't do much more than planetary astronomy with your Mk1 eyeballs.