Step-by-Step Guide: Capturing a Total Solar Eclipse with Seestar S30 Pro

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    ⚠️Safety Reminders
    When observing a total solar eclipse, safety must be your absolute priority. Looking directly at the Sun can cause severe eye damage. Therefore, it is vital to wear certified solar eclipse glasses for visual observation.
    For photography, a specialized solar filter must be attached to your lens. Never point a camera or lens directly at the Sun without a certified solar filter in place, as the focused sunlight can easily destroy your equipment's sensor and internal components.

    How to shoot a total solar eclipse with the Seestar?

    First and foremost, you need a Seestar smart telescope, with its tripod and the dedicated solar filter.

    Step 1: Connect Seestar to your mobile device

    Step 2: Level your Seestar

    Go to "Me" -> "Advanced Features" -> "Level & Compass Calibration"-> "Adjust Level" then tap the "Adjust" button on the right to enter the leveling page.

    The display of the circle on the screen indicates the direction in which the Seestar is tilted. To level the Seestar, simply adjust the tripod legs corresponding to that tilt direction.

    Adjust the tripod until the two circles on the screen overlap to complete the leveling process.

    Step 3: Install the solar filter

    Once leveling is complete, enter Solar System mode and tap the "GoTo" button next to the Sun. The Seestar's lens will automatically slews up to a horizontal position, waiting for the solar filter to be installed.

    Step 4: Locate the Sun

    Tap "Installed & Start Observing" to begin searching for the Sun automatically. Once the Observing is successful, tap "Yes" to confirm that the Sun is in the fram. Then, enable "Center Target" to keep the Sun framed in the center of the screen.

    To achieve a sharper image of the Sun, you can use the autofocus feature: first, tap near the solar limb, and then tap "AF" to focus on the Sun.

    "Adjust"is used to adjust the exposure. It supports two modes: [Auto] and [Manual].
    [Manual Mode] locks the exposure time and gain settings, providing a more stable rendering of the Sun's brightness. However, because the ambient light shifts drastically during an eclipse, single set of parameters can‘t cover the entire event. Therefore, it is highly recommended to adjust your exposure settings dynamically based on the specific phase of the eclipse.
    [Auto Mode] automatically adjusts the exposure and gain based on the overall brightness of the frame. Currently, the auto-exposure supports a maximum duration of up to 1 second. Even as the sky darkens during totality, this mode stably maintains the target's brightness, preventing the Sun from becoming too dim and causing a loss of tracking.

    Step 5: Shoot a "Time-lapse" to record the entire event

    With these essential adjustments complete, your Seestar is now ready to track and capture the Sun with pinpoint accuracy. You can swipe through the shooting modes at the bottom of the screen—selecting "Time-lapse," "Photo," or "Video"—to begin your creation.
    To document the entire progression of the total solar eclipse, "Time-lapse" is highly recommended. Tap the settings tool in the bottom left, set the interval to 2 seconds, and select "Unlimited" for the recording duration. Once configured, simply tap the red shutter button to start capturing.
    Tips：
    1. While shooting a solar eclipse time-lapse, if you want to save a specific spectacular moment, you can simply tap the "Share" button on the top right.
    The system will automatically capture and save a real-time snapshot of the current frame. This allows you to effortlessly preserve single images of critical phases—such as totality or the diamond ring effect—while your time-lapse continues to run, ensuring a comprehensive and complete record of the total solar eclipse.
    1. For flexibility, you can switch to Manual Mode by tapping the “Adjust" button on the right.
    During a total solar eclipse, the Sun's brightness is anything but static. This is especially true right around totality and during the third contact (brightening phase), where the ambient light levels shift dramatically. Throughout the shoot, you can dynamically fine-tune the exposure time and gain based on the real-time on-screen preview. This prevents the frame from becoming overexposed or underexposed, allowing you to capture the sharpest details of the eclipse.

    Step 6: End of shooting

    Once the total solar eclipse has come to an end, return to the shooting interface and tap the "red shutter button" to stop recording. Slew the Seestar's lens away from the Sun, remove the solar filter, and power down the device for storage.
    The total solar eclipse is almost here. Are you ready to witness this once-in-decades sky events？We hope this guide helps you prepare for the journey ahead. Seestar will be there alongside astronomy enthusiasts everywhere, celebrating this extraordinary eclipse under the Moon's shadow.

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