I found an old spotting scope that my grandfather used for bird watching. It has a variable zoom and can go between a magnification of 9x to 30x. The weather was nice, and I decided to mount it to my camera’s tripod and use it to look at the moon. The mounting system between the two was not a perfect match and had a little wiggle in it. At first I tried to use a rubber band to tighten the fit, but they kept snapping before the wiggle was gone. I ended up lashing it to the tripod mount which eliminated all of the wiggle. Held together by string and rubber-bands, a tiny telescope was born.

Taking it outside, I tried to find a nice secluded spot near me. I ended up on the top of a raised tennis court. It wasn’t perfect but this helped keep most of the streetlights off of me. I used the setup pictured below to mainly just stare at the moon for a while. (The light around the telescope base was from my phones flash, not a streetlight.) I Tried to take a few photos holding my phones camera up to the eyepiece but just couldn’t get it to focus correctly.

Permanently Joining my Camera Bag

Because I can look up and see the moon anytime there is a semi-clear night, I have often taken it for granted. Just getting a bit closer with the 30x magnification on the scope really captivated me for a while. I really liked this setup and added the scope to my camera bag. Now, when I go out for astrophotography, or just on night shoots with friends, I can set this up and show the moon in greater detail. I’m hoping, others find seeing the moon through the scope as cool as I do.

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