Great gift idea for a young person who's tech-interested but not ham-interested

Ernst PA1EJO has been posting results of his astrophotography pursuits lately and, behind the scenes, I've been making my own images - with the same telescope.

Within hours of first using this scope, two things occurred: (1) amazement of the images increasing in quality as exposure time progressed and (2) the realization that this would be a great gift for someone who's not interested in ham radio but still likes technical hobbies.

The Scope(s)

With KX2 for size comparison

 

I have both telescopes that Seestar makes - the S30 and the S50.

These are "smart" telescopes that use GPS and plate solving to find the object you want to photograph, then photograph it using one of several shutter speeds that range from 10 seconds to 60 seconds. Images are taken one after the other as the scope tracks the object through the sky as we rotate beneath it.

The images are then "stacked" to reduce digital noise and bring out detail in faint objects that are invisible to the naked eye. The finished image is then viewable on the smart phone or tablet you used to command the scope.

All this in a package about twice the size of a large novel (S30). The S50 is bigger, but still small and very portable. 

I'll be hitting the road soon for an RVing summer escape from Florida, camping under skies that are much darker and clearer then we have at home. The S30 and S50 will be coming along, as will the KX2 and FT-891.

Results from a light-polluted location - my driveway:

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"Pillars of Creation" in the Eagle Nebula, 106 minutes total exposure

 

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Wide-field view of Antares and globular cluster M44, 40 minutes

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Rosette Nebula, 88 minutes

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M51 Whirlpool spiral galaxy & its companion, NGC 5195, 118 minutes

But to see the Seestars' true ability to make absolutely incredible images if you have the time (and weather) to make hundreds of images over the course of several nights, have a look at Photo Rookie's YouTube channel.

Summary

For the price, nothing comes close in producing such images of distant objects.

I have an astronomy "big rig" that I no longer use and will be selling it soon. It consists of many components that all have to be connected, aligned, balanced, adjusted, aimed, focused, etc...

All of its functionality is contained within the Seestars and I can be collecting distant, ancient photons within 15 minutes of deciding to do so.

So not just for kids - these telescope/cameras certainly aren't toys - they do have a WOW! factor to everyone I've demo'd them for as neighbors walk past my driveway.

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