From City Skies to Deep Space: How Seestar Brought Astronomy Back to Emma Pezzi
My name is Emma and I have been using Seestar for about two years, but first and foremost I consider myself a visual amateur astronomer. I own a 12" Dobsonian that I still use whenever I manage to escape to the mountains, in search of dark and clear skies. I also have a traditional setup with a camera and a star tracker, but between children, work, and the often unfavorable weather, which always seems to happen on new moon weekends 😒, my observing nights at high altitude have become only a few per year.
From home, under light-polluted skies and surrounded by rooftops, those setups simply aren’t usable. The arrival of Seestar is what really brought back the joy of astronomy for me.
I really appreciate how quick it is to set up: in less than five minutes it’s ready for observation. This allows me to use it even during the week, after intense workdays, when I simply wouldn’t have the energy to prepare traditional equipment. It works very well even from the city center and between rooftops, and it doesn’t need to see Polaris. Of course, under a good dark mountain sky the differences are noticeable, but it’s amazing what it can do even in urban conditions!
Seestar was also my first step into astrophotography. At first I only used the automatic modes, then I started downloading the RAW files and processing them manually with dedicated software. Thanks to Seestar I learned how to use complex programs such as PixInsight, and this experience later allowed me to collaborate with remote observatories by processing their data. Over time my astrophotography processing has evolved, but everything started with Seestar.
For this reason I really appreciate the different levels of use it offers: you can start from a fully automatic mode and gradually move toward a more traditional approach, using it simply as an acquisition tool, which is the mode I prefer.
In recent months, in addition to my first S50, I have also been testing the S30 and the S30 Pro. I love all three of them, each for different characteristics.
The S50 for the fine details it can capture thanks to its larger aperture.
The S30 Pro for its very wide fields of view, which help place celestial objects in their broader context.
The S30 as a perfect compromise between the two.
Compared to the S30, the S30 Pro captures a wider area of the sky, while the performance in fine details is practically the same. In addition, it offers Star Trail and Milky Way modes, which unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to try yet. I hope to take it under truly dark skies soon!
People often ask me what to choose between the S30, S30 Pro and S50. I always answer that it depends on what you want to do with it.
If I want to capture more details of the Moon, I choose the S50; if instead I want to place the Moon within the landscape, maybe while it is rising behind the mountains, I choose the S30 or S30 Pro.
If I want to capture more details in the Orion Nebula, I choose the S50; if instead I want a wider field that includes the Horsehead, the Flame, and maybe the three stars of Orion’s Belt, I choose the S30 or S30 Pro.
I have to say it would be hard for me to give up any of the three. Ideally, I wouldn’t have to!
The app is intuitive, enjoyable to use, and continuously improving through updates.
I’m attaching some photographs, almost all taken from my home balcony: a concrete demonstration of how Seestar makes astrophotography accessible and rewarding even for those who live under less-than-ideal skies. Most of them were taken with the S50 simply because I have owned it longer.
