The photo on the left is me just pointing my Galaxy Note II at the sky - the one on the right uses the same phone, but with a bit more kit...

Last year, I bought myself a small telescope as a birthday present.

I wanted to use it to take photos of the moon. I like the moon. The problem is that putting the phone up to the lens of the scope is really tricky to align. Which makes taking good photos really tricky.

So, I picked myself up one of these.

It's a Revelation Universal Digiscoping Adapter and a Revalation Universal Smartphone Grip. It's a fiddly bit of kit but you put the lens in one end, screw it on, grip your phone in place, and try to align the two.

Step 1 - attach all the bits and then screw the phone securely.

Step 2 - Add the lens and fiddle until they're perfectly aligned.

My first attempt at Lunar Photography was somewhat hampered by a lack of decent alignment.

I rijigged everything, found the moon in the eyepiece, attached the digiscope and... Ah, yes, because of the difference between my eye and the camera, I had focussed on the foreground tree rather than the moon.

Setting the phone to "macro focus" and twiddling with the telescope's focussing knob produced this.

I then adjusted the exposure so the phone's camera wasn't overwhelmed with light.

I moved the telescope and waited for the moon to come out from behind a tree. That way, I could capture the whole thing without interference.

I then digitally zoomed in and got these beautiful shots. Click for full resolution.

I swapped out for a higher magnification lens.

This is Tycho - the most prominent of the moon's craters. I didn't pick up any unusual magnetic readings ;-)

One of the problems with the digiscoping adapter is that it is quite heavy - especially with a Galaxy Note II attached. The weight was enough to push the telescope of its carefully aligned axis - so I ended up holding the viewfinder up manually. This lead to some shakey shots. As you can see from this video - it's was rather hard to keep the camera still while taking a photo.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the whole setup. Getting the lenses aligned is a pain - and I need to find a way to compensate for the weight of the adapter and phone.

I just used the stock camera, I'm aware that if I'm trying to shoot more distant objects I will probably want something with a much longer exposure.

But, for a first attempt, I'm over the moon :-)

I had to wait a few more days for the skies to clear - but that just built my anticipation.

Last night, I noticed a new star up in the sky. After consulting the astrological almanacs, I discovered that it was the planet Jupiter!

To the naked eye, it looked very much like this:

I whacked on the basic lens, and aligned my 'scope with Moonbase Alpha. The nearly-full moon took up the whole of my view - and it was good.

Click for bigger.

Jupiter, however, looked like a dot. Barely different to any of the stars. How disappoi... wait a moment! The telescope came with a selection of lenses! I plucked out the smallest one, threaded it in to place, and took another look at the Moon.

Click for MASSIVE!

Now, that was more like it! If I could see the moon in that sort of detail - what would the largest planet in the solar system look like? I guided the telescope up until I could see Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto - just like Galileo. There - hanging in the middle - was a striped planet. Wandering through the heavens, glowing a majestic orange.

Further evidence that I need a proper photo rig is that my captured image of The Cosmic Liver is somewhat lacklustre. If you squint, you can just about see the stripes. Despite repeatedly shouting "Computer, enhance image!" I still can't see the Great Red Spot.

New year's resolution - lots more star gazing :-)

For the last few years, I've been pondering getting a telescope. Like many of my plans, it sat in the back of my head waiting for me to get off my lazy arse and do something about it. I halfheartedly researched telescopes online, glanced at them occaisionally in the shops, and thought "soon".

Then, while stocking up on catering sized tins of beans at Costco, I spotted this beauty.

The Celestron NexStar 102 GT Computerized Telescope. The price was good according to Google Shopper, the reviews seemed reasonable, and - more importantly - the box had a QR code on it!

I lugged it to the checkout, drove home as fast as I could, and tore through the packaging pausing only to briefly consult the instruction manual.

Assembled in all its glory - I couldn't wait to take it out and let myself wander the skies.

The British weather, on the other hand, had made plans which were clearly designed to vex me. Arse. So, I moped about for a few days, glancing up at the clouds every evening and blowing as hard as I could to make them shift.

Last night, however, the weather seemed perfect. A few clouds - but not too many - the street lamps far enough away not to cause too much light pollution. I set the 'scope up outside, levelled it off, aligned it, plugged in our longitude and latitude to the little onboard computer, and watched it whir into action.

I peaked through the eyepiece, twiddled the knobs, and - suddenly - there was the moon. The half moon filling up my eye. I could see craters! Suck beautiful clarify. I was breathless.

Of course, the only way modern man can experience anything these days, is via an electronic screen. I flipped out my camera phone and held it against the lens. After several shaky and blurred photos, I managed to grab this stunner. (Click for bigger)

It may not be the best photo of the Moon - but it's mine. What's remarkable is that I didn't fiddle with any of the myriad image settings on my Android - I just snapped. I'm going to get an accessory which will let me hook the phone up and take better, more stable photos. Long exposure photos of galaxies. Photos of far off planets.

But, for now, there's something so raw and primitive about sticking my eye in a lens. The photons explode from the Sun, collide with the Moon, scream their way to Earth, where they are gathered up by some glass and mirrors, then focused to impact on my retina.

Science rocks.