Mars April 10 2014

[edwardsdj]

Hi All,

My first image with the ASI120MM and Astrodon type 2c filter setup.

I still have so much to learn about this new camera but this is by far the best image of Mars I have ever taken.

Mars from Chapel Hill, Brisbane at 12:32am on 10th April 2014.
Above average seeing.

Telescope: Celestron C11 with Ultima 2x Barlow
Focal length: 8900mm
Focal ratio: f/32
Camera: ZWO ASI120MM
Filters: Astronomik RGB Type 2c

Capture: FireCapture
Processing: VirtualDub, Ninox, Registax 6, GIMP

Take care,
Doug

[Astro_Bot]

That's an excellent image. :thumbsup:

[John Hothersall]

Plenty of detail coming through, nice colour on the best side of Mars. Have you tried Autostakkert2 yet it seems quicker and an improvement on the venerable Regx.

John.

[edwardsdj]

Thanks John.

No, I haven't tried Autostakkert2 yet. Thank you very much for the tip.

I was so much more familiar with Registax 4 and 5. I can't seem to find the way to do some of the things I was used to with Registax 6 but I do like the additional control over the wavelets.

Your images are so much more naturally processed than mine.

I am very keen to give Autostakkert2 a go.

Take care,
Doug

[John Hothersall]

Doug - I use AS2 as it is quick and crops and centres then I use Regx5 for wavelets so it is sharp without noise then WJupos for RGB derotation combination. If you have not used WJ I would say it is essential as it derotates allowing longer capture times sharpening the detail. I use 3mins per channel for Mars 7,000 frames each channel - when the seeing is good it pays off.

Regards, John.

[Shiraz]

:thumbsup: Nice one Doug . Agree with John AS!2 is the way to go. regards Ray

[edwardsdj]

Hi John,

Thank you so much for your advice.

I have looked at WinJupos recently but it didn't look easy. Anthony Wesley wrote some words about derotation many years ago and it has stuck with me ever since. Given what you have said I will persevere and figure it out!

With this camera I am getting over 10,000 frames in 2 minutes in the green channel. I still have to figure out why I am getting only 3,000 in the red with the same exposure (so much to learn about FireCapture).

I'm hoping seeing will be good enough to have a go at the Tharsis region tomorrow night. I saw Olympus Mons (or the orographic clouds above it ) visually on Saturday night and am very keen to attempt an image!

Thanks again for your help.

Take care,
Doug

[John Hothersall]

There is a good simple tutorial. 'WinJUPOS tutorial for everyone' will get you started. I use the same frame rate for each channel 38-39fps and adjust the gain for 85% histogram in Firecapture - lower for bright red and higher for dim blue and I get the same number of frames each channel.

If you need any advice you can send me a PM.

Regards, John.

[edwardsdj]

Hi John,

I cannot thank you enough for your help!

Thank you so much for the pointer to a WinJupos tutorial.

Yes, I am doing much as you describe but am getting the advertised frame rate of 90fps in the green channel but only 30fps in the red with the same exposure. I only change the gain. For blue I have to use a longer exposure to keep the gain under control and get the maximum frame rate (about 50fps) possible.

I just have to figure something out about FireCapture to get the 90fps in red. I'm using the same exposure as green with lower gain so I don't see any reason why I can't get 90fps in red and green with this camera. If all else fails I'll start selecting the Green settings in FireCapture for both the the red and the green channels.

Anyway, I've only been out with this camera once and was learning FireCapture on the spot.

Thanks so much for the offer of a PM.

Take care,
Doug