Today I stumbled upon the first photograph of the Orion Nebula, taken by Henry Draper in 1880. I realized that it looked a lot like an image I was able to get through my telescope in December, 2013 using my iPhone!
I’ve compared the two photos below.
LEFT: The first telescopic photo of the Orion Nebula by Henry Draper in 1880.
RIGHT: My telescopic image using an iPhone.
In about a second – with equipment we can carry in our pockets – we’re now able to outdo what used to take almost an hour. Now that’s progress!
Learn more about Henry Draper on Wikipedia and see my full resolution iPhone image of the Orion Nebula on Flickr.
UPDATE 03/06/14
This photo is now the subject of an article on the website io9 and a post on the I F*cking Love Science Facebook page! A big thrill for me!
Canadian Astronomy 
Great pictures. What are the specs of that 8″ telescope.?
Thank you! I use a Celestron NexStar 8SE http://www.celestron.com/astronomy/celestron-nexstar-8se.html
Thank you! I used an 8″ Celestron NExStar 8SE telescope: http://www.celestron.com/astronomy/celestron-nexstar-8se.html
Just got a telescope, and never thought of using my iPhone, just working out ways to fit my slr to it doh ! Good pic tho ( I wonder what the 12x add on lens for the iPhone would produce ? )
Thanks! I haven’t tried any of the fancy iPhone lenses. If you do and have success, let me know!
“In about a second – with equipment we can carry in our pockets – we’re now able to outdo what used to take almost an hour. Now that’s progress!”, Wow, you have a telescope you carry in your pocket? Impressive.
You can carry a freaking telescope on your pockets? Some deep pockets…
Is that a telescope in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Great picture but how did u get the colours? Did you edit your picture?
Thank you! The colours are true to the image but I brightened/sharpened/boosted the levels in Photoshop and/or the iPhone Camera+ app.
Hi there. First of all it was indeed a nice picture and an interesting comparison but, did you photoshop your picture? How did you get the colours otherwise?
Thanks! The colours are true to the image – I simply played with the levels/brightness/sharpness in either Photoshop or the in-phone Camera+ app (can’t recall!)
Great pic. How are you attaching the iPhone to the telescope? I’ve tried a binoculars adapter however its not the right fit. What adapter do you use? Thanks
Thanks! I use the Orion Steadypix universal smartphone adapter and blogged about my methodology here: https://canadianastronomy.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/smartphone-astrophotography-how-to-photograph-the-moon-planets-with-your-phone/