Now I have dots. 25 mar 12:25 Local

[rumples riot]

Shot this in between cloud banks.

264/ 458 frames 5fps 320 x 240 resolution (only just fit on the screen)
5x powermate FL 12500mm
LX200 10"
Registax3
Astra image

If you look hard enough you can see the GRS just coming around the corner on the right hand side top EQ belt. Damn the clouds, was really quite still just before I took this and after I took it the clouds rolled in and I did not get another.

Might try to do another process tomorrow, now 3:00am. I did not give it too much waveletting.

Anyway what do you think. Focus could be sharper I know. But white storms are visible in Southern temperate zone. And some white storms visible in the Northern EQ belt

Am pleased that I have made more progress.

Comments welcome.

[gbeal]

Paul,
wow, f50!!! you have gone striaght for the doctor huh? I would like to see what the final waveletting does first.
Yep it look like the focus may be a bit soft, but at that sort of image scale wouldn't you?
Keep at it. Mars is here soon.
Gary

[rumples riot]

Thanks Gary, yeah focus is a bit soft; now that I have looked at it in the cold light of day and the waveletting needs some work. Was really tired when I processed last night, but knew that I had some thing.

Will process again and see what I get.

[iceman]

I think it could probably use a bit more waveletting too. nice to see the white spots though, very well done.

What was the seeing like? 12500mm FL is really pushing it unless the seeing is near perfect.

Even though there is some compression at 640x480, my preference would be 640x480 with a 3x or 4x barlow at your focal length, then the seeing doesn't need to be quite as good, and many other good planetary imagers on CN use 640x480 and get very good results.

Anyway you're getting better every time and it's only a matter of time before you pull out a ripper.

[rumples riot]

Did some more waveletting but unfortunately, this was a rushed shot so cannot expect it much better than this. Just did not have time to focus really well and I think that the collimation just needs a small tweek. It is cloudy today so I don't think that it can happen tonight.

Things to take away from this is that collimation must be very close, I have never imaged the polar spots before, so that is good. My imaging skills are getting much better at planetary work aside from my lax use of the hartman mask.

Anyway this is 208 frames/ 458

Comments most welcome.

[beren]

Paul , great stuff , heaps of detail evident pity it just couldnt get that little bit more focus , seeing and cloud must of been factors . i find it so frustrating with my attempts when you can see great progress onscreen but the final outcome is just off . hope you can do some more over the break , im going to try for some early late evening/morning efforts. well done

[ving]

see you moved it straight into your avatar paul?
good stuff. you keep getting more detail every time

[rumples riot]

Thanks Guys, yeah really on the verge of a break through now. Any time soon I will be producing images that are great. If the weather improves I will try to star collimate with the 3x barlow and the toucam tonight. Get that final tweek. Then go for Jupiter and try to get those lovely diffraction spikes with the moded hartman mask.

[bird]

Good work Paul - it's fun to see these images keep on improving.

Bird