Jupiter 12 Jan 05

[rumples riot]

Another attempt at the Jovian planet.

200 stacked images wavelets done in Registax3. If you look hard enough you can see the GRS to the left of the planet and faint yellow festoons under the NEB. Seeing was average and it took a lot to get this out. Artifacts are now gone, dust devils in the optics which I removed.

I have attached two images and can't decide which I like best. Comments welcome.

[rumples riot]

And the other, both taken at f20. Tried at f30 but atmosphere too unstable. Both shots taken at 4:30 - 5:00 am this morning, and Jupiter was at around almost 70 degrees above the horizon. Will try again tomorrow.

[gbeal]

Nice work Paul, up higher, and with better than average seeing is the trick.
Nice though just the same. What was the eyepiece view like, as that is the best indicator for me.
Gary

[cometcatcher]

I like the bottom one better I think but they are both nice.

Unfortunately I'm a terrible planetary photographer so I don't think there will be images like that coming from me anytime soon.

[rumples riot]

Through the 12.5mm it looked pretty good, albeit a little bright, still you could see banding, and the GRS. Not much in the way of festoons etc. But I think that I will have to make my way to the Toucam, the images that Mike posted today have a smoothness about them that the LPi cannot seem to handle. I have twice tried the DSI for planetary work and have come to the conclusion that it is a piece of junk. Don't know what it is like for deep sky, but the settings act very strangely and I end up with a bright red image that is over exposed in the centre. Not very impressed. If I go the toucam route I will need help from you and Mike on how to operate the thing. I have seen some of the decriptions that Mike has given and it seemed complicated to me. Is that true Mike? Do I have to do a lot with it? What should I do?

[[1ponders]]

Good one Paul. Number one I think. DSI or LPI?

[[1ponders]]

We're posting at the same time again Paul:D

[[1ponders]]

Its horses for courses isn't it. I still get frustrated using the LPI but the ToUcam is a breeze "now".

[rumples riot]

LPI, I think that you have read my thoughts on the DSI.

[rumples riot]

Hey thanks Kevin, but you should see Bird's latest image of Jupiter. He posted on Cloudy nights either today or yesterday I think and it is way better than any shot I have seen out there.

I think it can be found here:

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/306868/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1#Post307802

Sorry if I pasted the wrong thing.

Now he takes great shots. And would love to learn from him.:D

[[1ponders]]

Maybe I'm not being fair on the LPI. I really haven't spent the time with it. Maybe tonight I'll max and match the ToUcam and LPI.

How long does it take for you to get the 200 images? Last time I tried I quit after about 40 or 50 images as it was taking forever

[rumples riot]

It all depends on seeing and settings. I usually set at 40% quality and save every image or if i combine I use 60%. But I only image for 120 secs tops. Sometimes I get three hundred shots in that time and other times I get 20. It just depends on seeing. Give it a shot and tell us what you think. The toucam has to be the winner. But maybe you will have differing results.

[[1ponders]]

I'll try saturn again again tonight hopefully. What exposure are you using again? (save me trying to find it)

[rumples riot]

I think for Jupiter .177 of a second or one step slower and Saturn is .377 I think.

[[1ponders]]

Cheers! Thanks for that.

[rumples riot]

No problem

[iceman]

The ToUcam is great, i'm happy to help any way I've can.. I've learnt a fair bit about it from guys here and on CN.

The top image looks better for me, but the focus looks soft - are you sure focus was spot on? Have you got a hartman mask to check focus?

Either that, or the turbulance was so bad that you stacked too many "off" images and reduced detail.

It's better than your first attempt though - as long as you get better each time out, you'll be producing great images in no time.

[rumples riot]

Yeah I have a Kendrick focusing mask, which is a hartman mask with three holes. Focus is really really hard on the screen of my laptop, even with the mask on. Any tips on how to get focus on the screen, I know about using one of the moons or a local star, but still find it had to know when focus is just right, aside from looking for that fine detail on the planet like the GRS. Still I will be calling on your help soon enough I suspect.

[[1ponders]]

Check out my Hartman post Paul. (Maybe its a Kendrick mask I'm using Or a Schiner Disk? :P )

I find it a lot easier to focus using the triangular holes. Have a look at the images if you haven't already. Though it may not work as well with a LPI, it seems to have a fairly long lag time/refresh rate I had a bit of a problem with it, but maybe thats just me using the LPI :confuse2: ). Its np with the ToUcam. Pretty much as you do it, half sec to sec later its there.

[rumples riot]

OK thanks Paul, I will try it. I did see it and thought it was a good idea. And; yes you are right the LPi does have a very long lag time, but first I have to clean the corrector plate on the scope. Need to look at the formula for cleaning it. Don't really want to do that but it has smears all over it from a little dust off I tried but used a tissue that had Eucalyptus oil in it. Anyway I will get it fixed.

Thanks for the tip.

[[1ponders]]

Oh no!!I hope no serious damage done to the UHTC

[rumples riot]

Nah no damage done. Cleaned the corrector with twenty cotton wool buds, still some smears on it, but only when you look from certain angles can you see them. The UHTC seems to be very resilient and no damage was seen. I even looked for fine scratches, but none to be seen. I was worried there for a moment, but now know that it is not a big a deal as Meade and others make out. Just make sure you dust first though.

[cometcatcher]

Thanks for the link to Bird's image. However it seems to be taking me to HST shots of Jupiter instead! :P

After that I think I'll stick to deep sky, even though I'm outclassed there too. :whistle: