Rather than cybersecurity and AI, this special edition blog post is about a way that might bring you and your family joy. It’s about using smartphone guidance technology for telescopes to rediscover the wonders of the night sky, and you might find it interesting, especially if you have kids or grandkids.

What the Smartphone-Based Telescope Pointing Technology Does to Make Astronomy Easier:

The big deal is that smartphone technology makes finding elusive planets, nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies relatively easy, even for beginners. Even advanced telescope users will be amazed at how quickly they can locate objects in the sky.

The smartphone system leverages the technology in your smartphone to create an advanced guidance system without you needing to pay for the electronics your phone already has. The question is, “Why didn’t anyone think of this before?”

How it works: The telescope has a cradle for your smartphone that allows you to use your smartphone to find objects in the sky quickly and easily. You choose an object, asking the app for suggestions if you wish. Then, the app on your phone tells you which direction to push the telescope.

One appeal is that astronomy is now somewhat gamified. Family members, even the youngest ones, can experience the excitement of moving around the telescope until the circle on the screen shows that the user has successfully completed the process. Looking into the eyepiece is the reward for the fun game.

There is no need to hunt for galaxies and nebulas from a star chart. The telescope app takes you on a tour by showing you which way to point the telescope.

This is stargazing made easy. If you like new technologies, enjoy gadgets, or want to create more family experiences combined with education, investing in a telescope with this smartphone-based technology for you or someone in your family, especially a young person, is worth considering. Not everyone’s interested in investing in a telescope. At the bottom of this article are ideas for no charge resources to enjoy astronomy.

Choosing Your Family Telescope with the SmartPhone Tech:

After learning about this game-changing technology, you might decide to invest in a new family telescope as an experiment. The following sample thought process might benefit you as you choose a telescope.

For this to make sense, know that traditional guided telescopes tended to be large and heavy. Cats loved running out the open door while their people took large telescopes outside. After adjusting the tripod’s legs to ensure the telescope was level, owners would need a compass, bubble level, two bright stars, and a cumbersome controller that asked for the date, time, and the nearest city. Then, they would need to align the mirrors. The entire process took around 30 minutes if everything went well.

Hence, one of your goals for the new telescope might be a “quick and easy” setup, so you might choose a refractor with no mirrors. In their defense, mirrored telescopes are much more economical if you opt for larger openings that gather more light. However, they require the extra step of aligning the mirrors to make celestial objects look sharp and crisp each night. And a diagonal mirror in the tube blocks some of the light from the heavens.

Another goal is to have a very portable telescope. Many people find that a refracting telescope with a 4-inch opening is a good balance to gather a reasonable amount of light while still being easy to carry in and out of the house and fit into a vehicle. Plenty of brighter objects are visible in a 4-inch telescope, but I caution you against going smaller. A 4” scope gathers almost twice as much light as a 3” scope since Pi r squared. If you go larger, consider the possibility that the larger the scope you choose, the less often it will be carried outside and set up.

Of course, you don’t want to invest too much money in case your family isn’t captivated by the new experience. Perhaps compare the amount to what a large amusement park would charge your family for a one-day pass. Hopefully, the telescope will provide years of enjoyment compared to one day. Saving up first in a dedicated telescope fund can help build excitement in family members.

Here’s the setup process for the telescope described above:

1. Carry the lightweight telescope to your yard.
2. Center your smartphone’s camera over a mirror on the phone cradle on the telescope.
3. Open the guidance app on your phone and follow the quick alignment process.

The process is so quick and easy that if a tree or streetlight is in the way of what you want to see, you can pick up the telescope and move it to have an unobstructed view. Re-aligning the telescope and the app takes only a few minutes after you’ve practiced.

Unlike the simple telescope guidance system described here, which amounts to you pushing the telescope, the primary advantage of more expensive motorized guidance systems is that most will track and stay on a star as the earth turns. That’s essential if you’re performing serious astrophotography, but that’s an entirely different sport. Tracking is helpful, too, even for families, since objects stay centered in the eyepiece. But this message is for families who want to invest less money and enjoy great benefits. The smartphone guidance technology is a massive boost in less expensive models that allow for the easy location of so many celestial objects.

Benefits to Your Family:

You might be amazed how many beneficial outcomes for you and your family can result from investing in a telescope with smartphone guidance technology.

Enjoyment: The gamified process of finding celestial objects is fun, and the reward is the view of the object in the eyepiece

Reduced screen time: If your family is interested in astronomy enough to postpone other screen time, it will be a welcome surprise. One smartphone will be tied up using the telescope, and another might sometimes be attached to the eyepiece to take pictures.

Family quality time: Astronomy provides another avenue to enjoy quality family time. Combine observing sessions with cookouts, visits from relatives, and other occasions. It’s another way to bust out of an evening humdrum.

More short trips: If you live in an area with lots of light pollution, know that the moon, some planets, and bright stars are still beautiful to look at from home. You’ll likely be able to see many satellites as bright points of light moving quickly across the sky, especially soon after nightfall. After your family enjoys those, you’ll have a great reason to drive to darker skies to see distant nebulas and galaxies. A small-sized telescope is relatively easy to transport.

Increased interest in science: With so many events related to space, rockets, satellites, the moon, and Mars, this is a natural time to interest your family in astronomy. Most launches are streamed live online. Maybe you have a dreamer interested in going to Mars. Some planetarium shows are spectacular if you’re fortunate to be within driving distance. Telescopes outside the Earth’s atmosphere get extremely clear views, like the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope, and many of the pictures they’ve taken are available on the web to help fascinate family members.

Help develop math and science skills: Astronomy is also an opportunity to include math education. Magnification is determined by taking the telescope’s focal length and dividing that by the eyepiece’s focal length. A favorite is a 12 mm eyepiece in a telescope with a 660mm focal length. 660 divided by 12 yields 55 magnification. You could have a family activity in which you imagine the sun is the size of a basketball and then calculate the diameter and distance of the planets, nearby stars, etc. There are many homeschool guides that you can use even if you don’t homeschool.

Achieving goals: You and your family can set goals and challenges to find objects. For example, some people set a goal of finding a specific number of Messier objects. The Astronomical League offers an award for people who view 70 and another for people who find all Messier objects. The smartphone-based telescope-aiming technology makes the process exponentially easier than before. In the 1700s, astronomer Charles Messier was looking for comets and cataloged 110 objects that weren’t comets. The objects are labeled M1 through M110. Viewing M42, the Orion Nebula, should be on your winter nighttime list (or early on summer mornings).

An even higher appreciation for nature’s beauty: Many people feel awe when looking into space. As family members become engrossed in astronomy, they might consider investing in additional equipment to enhance the experience. One new accessory would be a low-power eyepiece with a wider field of view, dramatically increasing the experience of feeling more immersed in the stars.

Conveying the vastness of the universe: When your family members notice that objects eventually drift out of view and they need to adjust it slightly, they understand that our planet turns on its axis every 24 hours. Some of the light they see from distant objects has traveled millions of years to reach their eyes. Those are some old photons; the only purpose was to land in their eyes! The vastness of space is humbling, to say the least.

Building patience: Patience can reach new levels as family members learn that sometimes, careful small adjustments in aiming or focus produce fabulous results.

Increased willpower: Your family might get up before sunrise to see Jupiter, Mars, and other objects their phone will help them find. When they get up at 4am on their own, it is a testament to how enthralled they are in outer space.

Looking forward to celestial events: The earth is constantly spinning and orbiting, so the sky changes from season to season. Planets go through phases like our moon does. Imagine seeing a “quarter Venus.”  Jupiter’s moons appear as tiny stars in a line near Jupiter, and they’re moving night to night. Sometimes celestial objects appear to be very close together, in conjunction, from the earth’s perspective on different days and years.  Meteor showers happen, and comets come by periodically. Future events provide experiences to look forward to.

Smartphone photography: Adapters connect smartphones to an eyepiece to facilitate picture-taking. Astronomy smartphone camera apps are designed to take pictures through a telescope. You might find that a Bluetooth shutter release would be good, too, to avoid shaking the telescope to take the picture.

Increased interest in astronomy: A light, less expensive scope can launch your family’s enthusiasm for astronomy. Family members might develop more interest in discovering more.  Perhaps your family lives within traveling distance of an observatory that offers public viewing, museums with collections related to space, and other community resources such as astronomy clubs.

Design and building: You or your family might someday hone their drafting and woodworking skills by designing and making a telescope. There are plans and kits for telescopes.

Next Saturday:

If you’re not ready to buy a telescope or dust off your existing one, September 14, Saturday night, is “International Observe the Moon” night. You’ll likely easily find events in your area where astronomers set up telescopes for public viewing.

Conclusion:

While outside viewing with the telescope, your youngsters might ask, “Do you suppose one of those stars we can see in our telescope has a planet where a family is looking at us at the same time we’re looking at them?”

Perhaps you’ll feel inspired to explore the night sky more than ever before with your loved ones. Happy stargazing!

If you’re inspired to start or resume your stargazing journey, here are some resources that could be helpful to you and your family’s astronomical adventures:

Resources for Budding Astronomers

Note: I’m sharing the following specific details and recommendations in case they will help you. I have no affiliation with nor receive any compensation for any of the mentioned products or companies. The only incentive is to help you during your and your family’s stargazing journey. I encourage you to explore other options that suit your and your family’s needs.

Educational Materials

• Websites: astroleague dot org is a great example calendar of events and a quarterly magazine
• YouTube Channel: John A. Read’s astronomy videos
• Book Recommendation: “50 Things to See with a Small Telescope” by John A. Read. The book includes helpful diagrams of what to expect through your telescope.
• Others: As you look up that video and book, you’ll see myriads of other videos and books to explore. Your public library likely has many resources for the asking.

Telescope

• Model: Celestron Star Sense Explorer DX 102AZ
  • 4-inch (102mm) refractor
  • Includes smartphone mount for the Star Sense app (iPhone/Android compatible)
• Tip: Be cautious of discounted models without anti-reflection coatings
• Soon: Other companies will likely offer the same aiming technology
• Pre-owned: Keep your eyes on eBay, Craig’s List, and similar online marketplaces for lightly used telescopes and accessories. Celestron Star Sense has been around long enough that there are likely pre-owned options. Check the seller’s reviews or inspect the telescope before paying for it.

No Charge

• Free: There are many ways to enjoy astronomy, some of which don’t require purchasing anything, such as attending local stargazing events or using smartphone apps to identify constellations.
• NASA dot gov lists events, including local events
• Online: There are many online resources that are full of information on astronomy and telescopes.

Accessories

• Eyepiece Upgrade Option: A low-power eyepiece with a wide lens at the opening provides a superior field of view compared to the standard ones with the telescope. A wide field of view means you feel like your “window” is much larger. Some eyepieces have longer eye relief, making them better for people with glasses. You can try the stock eyepieces with the telescope to get an idea of what magnifications you prefer before investing in more expensive eyepieces. For example, with the stock eyepieces that come with the telescope above as examples, you might enjoy 66x magnification with the 10mm eyepiece most of the time and use the 5mm eyepiece for 130x magnification to zoom in on planets and the moon. Calculate magnification = the telescope’s Focal length divided by the eyepiece’s focal length. For example, a 12mm eyepiece with a wide field of view used in the above telescope, which has a 660 mm focal length, could provide an impressive and more immersive experience. If you decide to go for high magnification, know that, typically, 60 power per inch aperture is the maximum usefulness, up to 300 maximum. With high magnifications, objects only get blurrier and more challenging to locate. Astronomy stores often allow you to call or email and ask for advice about which eyepieces to choose. Tell them what kind of telescope you have, if people in your family wear glasses and any other information you have.
• Barlow Lenses: Extension tubes with lenses that affect the magnification of your existing eyepieces, such as doubling the power. This can reduce the need for many eyepieces since each eyepiece can effectively work as two magnifications, one magnification with and one without the Barlow inserted.
• Parfocal Eyepieces: Some brands of eyepieces advertise that they maintain focus when switching between different magnifications. This concept is appealing since it reduces the need to refocus when changing eyepieces.
• Smartphone Mounts: Be sure not to get too heavy a smartphone adapter that attaches to the eyepiece to take pictures. You might find that you need to move the telescope tube forward on the mounting rail to compensate for the smartphone’s weight.

Guidance

• Online Forums: There are many special interest groups.
• Clubs: You can also visit your local astronomy club.
• Free Help: I read good things about free advice and recommendations from specialists at, in alphabetical order, Agena Astro, B&H Photo, Highpoint Scientific, and others. Explore options to find a source of great advice.