Saturn (B/W) and a 6" newt

[coldlegs]

For some reason I always seemed to miss out on getting a picture of Saturn. Bad weather, too many clouds (last year was horrendous), too tired, doctor who was on TV etc, but finally got outside on a clear night and had a go at it. My little 6” F5 newt looked ridiculous with a X5 powermate and a 2” extender with a black and white toucam dangling out the back but it worked reasonably well. I still can't figure out how people with F4-4.7 newts get to F32 magnification!! Heck the best I can do is about F30 and that assumes the powermate with a 2” extender give around 6X. Would all you newt owners let me know how you do it?
Anyway it ain’t the greatest picture but it does let me know there's a planet up there with a pretty ring around it! Now if I can get a 10” newt and some colour, things could get interesting.
Regards
Stephen

[Quark]

Hi Stephen, well done with your Saturn attempt, especially with a 6" scope, but be warned, imaging Saturn can be addictive.

The best way to check what F/L and thus F/R you are imaging at is to measure your final image using the "F/L From Plate Scale" formula that is posted either in the IIS Resources section or IIS Projects & Articles section. It was posted there by Anthony Wesley.

The 5x PM out of the box works at a lot more than 5x, it depends on the distance from the top surface of the PM's eyepiece barrel to the chip in your camera. The greater the distance the higher the mag.

Regards
Trevor

[coldlegs]

Trevor
Thanks for that. I'd forgotten that article. Looks like I'm getting F34 which is probably about the most I could expect from a 6" F5 newt. That 10" I've been looking at is getting closer by the day!
Regards
Stephen

[Troy]

A nice picture stephen. Looks like you are on the mark for focus and collimation. :thumbsup:

[Shiraz]

Hi Stephen. Really nice for a 6 inch aperture. Yeah, smaller scopes do look ridiculous with lots of expensive black and green tubing sticking out of them. Wait till you get a filter wheel as well - takes "ridiculous" to a whole new realm. Regards Ray

[Clayton]

That's a pretty respectable image Stephen.

[michaellxv]

You think a 6" looks rediculous, try a 3":lol: .
You must be doing something right that's a good looking image.