(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

Nothing relaxes me more than a nighttime astrophotography session in my backyard. Since the start of the year, I’ve been testing a new smart telescope: the Seestar S30 Pro. While it looks almost identical to the Seestar S30 I used last year, the nebulas, galaxies, and star clusters I’ve captured look far more polished thanks to the upgraded hardware.It all stems from the Sony IMX585 (STARVIS 2) sensor in its telephoto lens. Unlike the standard S30, it delivers full 4K resolution and vastly superior dynamic range. At the same time, the larger sensor yields a much wider field of view, allowing it to capture larger deep-space objects — like the Horsehead and Flame nebulas — in their entirety.But the coolest part isn’t just that it shoots better astrophotography than my phone, it also captures some of the most epic nighttime timelapse clips I’ve ever recorded. Honestly, it’s a machine built to capture time in the most amazing way possible.Movement of the moon and sun

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)You would think that by now I'd be tired of imaging the same things in the night sky. Because really, how many times do I need another shot of the moon? Most of the best camera phones on the market can pull off impressive lunar shots, capturing small details like craters and darker maria. But no matter how much phone manufacturers try to convince me otherwise, the Seestar S30 Pro proves why smart telescopes are lightyears ahead in terms of quality.Image 1 of 6(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)Just look at the shots I captured straight out of the telescope, without any additional enhancements or editing. The details are rich and plentiful, and even when I apply a digital zoom through the app, it still produces a true-to-life image that phones simply can’t match. But the coolest part is using the Seestar S30 Pro to record a timelapse.Image 1 of 2(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)A timelapse reveals how the moon subtly changes position and phase over a couple of hours — movements you can only appreciate when time is sped up. It’s a similar story with the sun once I install the included solar filter. Not only does the S30 Pro expose crisp sunspots on its surface, but a timelapse reveals how they shift across the solar disk due to the sun's rotation.Unmatched performance