Stargazer takes incredible photos of space with £80 telescope he bought at Aldi

15 February 2024 , 22:10

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Stephen McAllister with his telescope - not the Aldi one (Image: Stephen McAllister / SWNS)

A stargazer has taken amazing space photos using his phone and an £80 ­telescope from Aldi.

Stephen McAllister has captured images of solar systems millions of light years away, without it costing the Earth. The physics teacher said: “I was doing essential ­shopping in Aldi and there was this £80 telescope. I had a snoop about, it looked like a really good piece of kit. They later went up to around £200.”

He picked up the bargain just before the 2020 Covid lockdown. “I phoned friends and told them to get down to Aldi. Four or five buddies went down that afternoon and cleared them out,” he said. “It’s been quite overwhelming that you can be living on a council estate and be capturing these images from your back garden.”

The Moon, taken with his Aldi telescope (Stephen McAllister / SWNS)

He shared his photos online and was stunned by the reaction. “We were doing live feeds of the planets and people were coming online and interacting,” he said. “That became entertainment on a Friday or Saturday instead of going to the pub.”

Stephen, who teaches in Port Glasgow, 20 miles from Glasgow, has spent £200 on additional lenses and tracking motors. “You can do an awful lot without spending a lot,” he advised. “There’s a lot of learning involved and be prepared to spend time in the cold.”

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