Finally nailed a shot of Jupiter's moons and my dad thought I photoshopped it

After months of failed attempts with my backyard telescope, I finally captured a clear image of Jupiter with all four Galilean moons aligned. I posted it excitedly on our family group chat, and my dad's first response was to accuse me of adding fake stars in some app. Spent the next half hour walking him through basic solar system facts, which was both hilarious and a little heartbreaking. But honestly, his skepticism made me appreciate the shot even more, like a weird astro-nerd milestone.

5 comments

5 Comments

ross.finley1mo ago

Honestly gotta push back on the "makes the achievement sweeter" idea. Tbh it just gets exhausting. Like with @the_mary's Orion, when your own family's first instinct is to cry fake, it feels like they're undermining the hours of freezing cold and technical struggle. That initial excitement gets replaced by having to defend your basic credibility, and it just drains the joy right out of sharing the win.

the_mary1mo ago

Relate so hard to this. My aunt thought my Orion shot was FAKE and demanded 'proof' I was even outside.

the_cora1mo ago

Absolutely! My own father questioned my Saturn ring shot, demanding to know how I 'faked' the rings. It's a rite of passage for amateur astronomers, and their skepticism only makes the achievement sweeter.

the_lily1mo ago

Your idea that skepticism makes the achievement sweeter used to be my exact stance. I thought pushing past doubt was part of proving your skill. Watching my cousin have to authenticate her eclipse timelapse to her own partner changed that for me. It shifts the focus from sharing a moment to performing a defense. The grind to get the shot should be the hard part, not the conversation after. Now I find that kind of suspicion just adds a bitter aftertaste to the whole effort.

anthony7921mo ago

I mean, my mom still thinks I edit Saturn's rings onto my shots, idk if that's better or worse. Like, she'll ask if I 'added the rings in post' and I have to explain atmospheric distortion for the tenth time. Maybe it's just me but it does add this weirdly bittersweet layer to finally getting a clear image.