I have found the SeeStar S50 to be fantastic for variable star photometry and general night sky imaging.
For those of us with less spare time than we’d like, chronic back pain, and a willingness to allow our hobby to evolve (or some subset of these), devices in the category of “smart telescope” like the SeeStar, are something of a revolution.
The S50 field of view (0.73 x 1.29 degrees) is great for many deep sky objects (nebulae, star clusters, galaxies) variable stars, asteroids, some comets, Luna, and the Sun. My current primary use cases are deep sky objects and variable stars.
The fields in which variable stars appear are often themselves quite varied and beautiful and that deserves a separate post.
Below is a small gallery of some deep sky images I’ve taken with the S50 from my back yard over the last year or so, each with a catalog designation, name, constellation (unless obvious from the name) and total exposure time (from multiple 10 second images stacked by the device). Noise reduction has been applied to most via the SeeStar app.
- Horsehead (Barnard 33) and Flame (NGC 2024) nebulae (Orion, 51 mins)
- NGC 2070: Tarantula Nebula (Large Magellanic Cloud, 16 mins)
December 31, 2025 at 6:42 pm |
Very impressive, especially southern sky gems!
Max P.
January 1, 2026 at 3:37 am |
I’ve geeked out major big time about astronomy since I was just a kid. I’ve always wanted to add astrophotography to my skill set, but my limited time and energy only allow me to enjoy it vicariously these days. Anyway, thanks for sharing these awesome images, mate. It’s beyond amazing that a single human being can now receive photons that started their interstellar and intergalactic journeys tens, hundreds, thousands, and millions of years ago. Thanks again for sharing, mate. Cheers and best wishes for a meaningful 2026.
January 6, 2026 at 8:42 am |
Thanks Frank. You’re welcome. 🙂 Yes, these machines are amazing, don’t require a lot of set up, are eminently usable without significant experience, and affordable (< $1000 AUD), so I'd encourage you to not give up on that idea of doing astrophotography. I started with film and DSLR. I still use the latter but these smart telescopes are so much less work, including for variable star photometry which makes me more productive as well. Take care and happy to chat more.