08/09/2026
Hi everyone, it’s been a minute! 🌌 Apologies for the radio silence—life has just been incredibly busy lately. But I had to jump back on because over the weekend, a bargain telescope popped up, and I had basically bought it in my head before even seeing it. 😂
Saturday night gave us a break in the clouds, so my daughter Millie and I headed to our local spot for a late-night test run (moonrise wasn't until 11:19 PM!). The moon was dodging behind some remaining clouds, which distorted those shots a bit, but then a whole new opportunity opened up.
I checked the PhotoPills app, and the Milky Way was directly overhead! I asked my AI assistant Gemini for a crash course on the Pixel 8 Pro’s Astro mode, and it was surprisingly painless—just point, shoot, and let the phone do its magic. Gemini also helped me tweak the file afterward to fix some vignetting and pull out those hidden details.
I'd been comparing my shots to some mind-blowing ones from places like Namibia, which led me down a rabbit hole learning about the "Bortle Scale" (how dark the sky actually is). I ran my image through SkyQi, which gave our spot a Bortle 4—good, but not pristine. A road trip up to the true dark skies of Northumberland or the North York Moors is definitely on the cards!
I’ve got a lot of learning to do, but I wanted to share these early attempts from the telescope and my phone. Any feedback or astrophotography tips from the pros out there would be hugely appreciated! 🔭📸
Now, I just have to be a good boy until my birthday in November, since Amy actually bought this telescope as my gift. I'll have to wait until then to officially use it for those crisp winter shots! 🤫
🌌 Galaxy: Google Pixel 8 Pro
🌕 Moon: Meade ETX-90 PE captured on Pixel 8 Pro (via a £8 Amazon mount!)
