Sorry guys the moon and Saturn are looking good here..no clouds at all
Just about getting the 2 in the field of view in my binos ..have the semi apo filters in the eyepieces and it does darken the objects just nicely and there is a very slight hint of a yellow/violet color on the edge of the moon..very happy
Got perfect skies here in Canberra. I have even tested out my telescope camera with a barlow lens and have gotten some nice image quality (and worked out how to make youtube use the telescope camera rather than the built in webcam), and should be perfectly set up for later tonight.
I will do another test once Saturn gets close enough to the moon to find it by manual scanning with the fine movement knobs (i don't have a goto scope, and dont have any ground level enough to put my telescope on for the RA; DEC measurements to be useful) to get the manual exposure settings set.
What will really be fun will be trying to time the reappearance at 10 pm, probably going to just track the point of the moon where it will reappear, start recording a few minutes before it is due to show, and just edit it in post.
Hopefully I will have a youtube link in about two hours time.
edit: got my settings set, waiting for saturn to get within the FOV of my camera to do final adjustments and start recording.
Not a very high framerate or resolution, but here it is.
Waaaaaaaah ! My telescope got rained on for the very first time in 5 years. I was being wildly optimistic to view the Saturn/Moon occultation tonight so wheeled it out to cool mirror down, and Russ was super keen to take pics spending the last couple of days getting stuff prepared for it. He still thinks we got a chance with optimism that would tug at ones heart strings (I blame him for scope getting wet lol). With an hour yet to go for the event, I really don't think this is going to happen- it'd take a miracle. Boooooh Brisbane!
At least I got a very quick look at Saturn near the moon between a cloud gap, so I'll have to be happy with that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by N1
I have written to Gianluca re contributing some images after he contacted me but stressed that I was not into AP and take photos holding the SLR to the eye piece. It's as low-tec as it gets but has yielded reasonable results in the past - at least for documentation purposes. The weather is pretty marginal here in Dunedin at the moment, so it may be a non-event for me.
Suzy, you should have no trouble imaging Saturn with your 10" dob and SLR. The dob provides so much light that exposure times should be able to be kept sufficiently short . The only other problem might be the dynamic range of the pair, so be sure to shoot RAW.
Then again, I'm really in no position to give advice since I don't even do prime focus
Hi Mirka, thank you on behalf of so many people (including me by the looks grrr!) for having a go at contributing. In my opinion, any image is a good image as it allows the people missing this event (moi, for one ) to see it. Thank you also for the tips- tho....
So far so good, the first half of the attraction went down under perfect conditions, even the seeing was alright. I hope it holds for the reappearance.
Here’s my effort. Around 8:40pm we saw that the clouds were breaking up so we set up our 77mm Leica spotting ‘scope on a photo tripod and were enthralled by the view, as the Moon drew slowly closer to Saturn. When the next wave of clouds obscured the fantastic scene I sprinted upstairs and grabbed the Canon EOS-M with EF-M22mm F2 lens to try my hand at some old fashioned hand-held afocal eyepiece projection.
This was one occasion where viewing the image on the rear LCD was beneficial, not to mention the complete absence of mirror slap, as the EOS-M is a mirrorless camera.
I combined a shot exposed for Saturn with one of the better ones of the Moon and was very pleased with how the last minute project turned out. We missed the actual occultation as the clouds returned and it looked they were here to stay so we packed up.
Tried to get the unblocking, unfortunately, as my camera lacks the dynamic range to get both saturn and the moon in detail at the same time, I could only aim at the vague area where it would be emerging, and unfortunately, was unable to catch it emerging.
Though it does not matter, as I still got to see it disappear behind the moon as well as doing some direct observation in the hours prior to occultation.
. The only other problem might be the dynamic range of the pair, so be sure to shoot RAW.
) to see it. Thank you also for the tips- tho.... 
