I didn't even look at Saturn as I was out tinkering with the Pentax *istDS trying to image the Ghost Of Jupiter. The intermittent cloud kept thwarting me so I then plugged in the ST7E and had a go at the Sombrero (M104) and the Antennae (NGC4038/4039) but couldn't get decent spells of clear sky. In frustration, I plugged in the ToUcam and slewed to Jupiter and was gob smacked at what I saw, so I spent the rest of the morning grabbing avi's, chasing the sucker holes.
Cheers
Dennis
Last edited by Dennis; 05-02-2006 at 07:45 AM.
Reason: fixed typo
Dedication pays off Dennis. Congratulations. That is a fantastic image.
I think I'll give up sleep permanently now. Thursday night was the first night in ages I decided to risk setting up. Sky was lovely and clear. Managed to get about 3/4 the way through repolar aligning after Lostock and in rolled the cloud. Sat outside for 3 hours waiting for it to clear. Man I am so over it.
omg! That's one of the best Jupiter's I've seen! Just incredible Dennis!
Unbelievably good, detail in the GRS and all.
Would you mind putting the avi on CD/DVD and sending it to me? I'd love to have a go at processing something with seeing that good!
Hi Mike
I played hide and seek with clouds from 3:13am to 4:54am and grabbed over a dozen avi's, so I'll burn the lot to a DVD and post them to you. I need all the help I can get with the results of an amazing night's work!
I almost didn't set up the gear due to the iffy conditions......
Awesome, thanks Dennis. Have you got a 4x powermate? It would've been a great jump in image scale for you under ideal conditions.
Your focus and collimation looks spot on too.. I can't stop looking at that image! and that raw frame! There's no noise or grain! Transparency between the clouds must've been good too!
oh btw, I sort of feel sorry for you that every avi from now on is most likely never going to reach the heights of this fantastic image. You only get nights of seeing like this a few times a year.
Awesome, thanks Dennis. Have you got a 4x powermate? It would've been a great jump in image scale for you under ideal conditions.
I tried the x5 PowerMate (both PowerMates are 1 1/4") but the image broke down - not enough aperture methinks. I was also plagued by dust bunnies that were not visible with the x2.5
Yes Sir!! Best image of Jupiter I've seen in ages too! Congratulations Dennis for being at the right place at the right time. And your capture/processing skills too of course!
Dennis, absolutely, without doubt the best ever Jupiter. I really don't think Hubble could do much better. Incredible detail within the GRS and what looks like another storm immediately adjacent!
I'm also smacking myself round the head. I had the scope set out all night. I got up at 4am and was grateful to see cloud all about so I could pack it in an get back to sleep. If only I'd know the seeing was like that I would have gone seeking the sucker holes. .
Was it cloudy your way too - you must be on the southside eh?
![[1ponders]'s Avatar](../vbiis/customavatars/avatar45_9.gif){kind=avatar}
I looked out at about 10:30 and thought "Damn %&*$# clouds" 
I shoulda stayed up 
Man I am so over it. 
You only get nights of seeing like this a few times a year.
