The Distant Worlds of Uranus and Neptune

[SkyViking]

Hi all, it's been a long time since I took images of Uranus and Neptune, so inspired by Dennis' recent hunt for Miranda I had a go at them the other day.

The image is available here: http://www.pbase.com/rolfolsen/image/138548280/original

Image details:
Date: 30/09/2011
10" Newtonian f/5, ToUCam Pro SC1, 5x Powermate, No filters
Uranus: 1100 x 1/25s (moons 644 x 2s)
Neptune: 850 x 1s (Triton 91 x 5.5s)

About the image:
This image shows Uranus with the four largest moons Oberon, Titania, Umbriel and Ariel - and Neptune with its large mooon Triton.
The image was taken with my 10" f/5 Serrurier truss Newtonian and is a composite of short exposures for the planet discs and longer exposures for the fainter moons. Miranda, the smallest of Uranus' five larger moons, was very close to Uranus when the image was taken and therefore lost in the glare of the planet itself in the long exposure image used to capture the moons. The orbits of the moons were added to illustrate the scale and orientation of the two systems as viewed from Earth, with South being towards the top of the image.
Both Uranus and Neptune are so far away from us that their angular diameters are only a few arcseconds, being 3.7" and 2.3" respectively. This makes it extremely difficult to discern any details on then and they nearly always appear as tiny cyan/blue balls except when imaged by large observatories or the Hubble Space Telescope. In fact, the entire orbit of Triton would easily fit behind the disc of Mars when the latter is at opposition. Still, with relatively modest equipment it is possible to get a good glimpse of these fascinating icy worlds.

Hope you enjoy it. Comments and critique is welcome as always.

Regards,
Rolf

[Shiraz]

Another excellent presentation Rolf - inspiring. Thanks very much for posting. Regards Ray

[DavidU]

Fabulous images Rolf.:eyepop::thumbsup:

[iceman]

Beautiful images and excellent presentation!

[dj gravelrash]

sensational --cheers for sharing.
:thumbsup:

[StephenM]

Great stuff Rolf! Very well captured.

Cheers,
Stephen

[koputai]

Inspiring, Thanks!

Cheers,
Jason.

[Clayton]

Lovely work Rolf

[Ric]

Great images Rolf

I also agree the presentation is a beauty.

[John Hothersall]

Not enough bother with these two ice giants and orbits shown set of the dynamics of these distant systems. Great work.

John.

[Dennis]

Beautiful work Rolf and what a stunning presentation. Showing the orbits is a really cool idea and makes these images really leap of the page. :)

Which application(s) do you use for planning your sessions for these planets? I have found a few slight differences for the moons plotted positions between Starry Night Pro and Sky Tools, the two apps that I normally use.

Cheers

Dennis

[Saturn%5]

Great work Rolf :thumbsup:

[SkyViking]

Thanks a lot Ray :)


Thanks Dave :)


Thank you Mike, glad you liked it. I enjoy doing these presentations.


Thanks Dino :)


Thank you Stephen. One of the good things about Uranus and Neptune is that one can keep shooting and get lots of frames to stack because at this distance there aren't really any features which will be blurred by rotation.


Thanks Jason :)


Thank you Clayton :)


Thanks Ric, glad you liked it.


Thank you John. I noticed it made Universe Today (http://www.universetoday.com/89445/astrophoto-the-distant-worlds-of-uranus-and-neptune-by-rolf-wahl-olsen/) as well, so at least these far away giants get some exposure. They are a bit overlooked, but great fun to image! :)


Thanks a lot Dennis. I was really just wondering about the orientation of the orbits, and then I decided to add them which turned out quite well I think. You are right about Starry Night, the positions of the moons are always off by a bit, don't know why. I haven't tried Sky Tools. I found that NASA's Solar System Simulator shows the exact locations - it is a great tool: http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/


Thank you Graeme :)

[Lester]

Wonderful presentation Rolf, thanks for the views. All the best.

[Dennis]

Rolf - thanks for the link to the JPL Solar Simulator site - cool!

Cheers

Dennis

[Stu Ward]

Another hit on the Universe Today Website

thats 3 !!!

[Suzy]

Wow! Wow! Wow! :eyepop:

And congratulations Rolf on making Universe Today! :)

[Matt Wastell]

Excellent (I love these little - distant worlds!)

[SkyViking]

Thanks Lester, glad you enjoyed it.


Cheers Dennis, it's a handy tool.


:D - Actually I think it's 5 now from IIS members!


Thank you Suzy :)


Thanks Matt :)

[iceman]

I couldn't help but come back to this one - I really loved it, especially the presentation with the orbits of the Moons. It really brings it to life.

It's now IOTW (http://www.iceinspace.com.au).

[hotspur]

Beautiful images-great to to see such results of fine craftsmanship-well done!

[SkyViking]

Wow thanks Mike, that is awesome. :)


Thank you Chris. I'm still hoping to capture Miranda as well - some day...

[DavidP]

Hi all,

And my first official post to the site...Will look for thread to make my introduction.

You have inspired me to continue to request the goto to point to either Neptune or Uranus!! Hoping the Celestron 102SLT in the light poluuted back yard of Adelaide is up to the task! Its packing a Moon and SkyGlow + the Fringe Killer (= semi-apo), as this is as close I get to an apo on my budget.

Regards to all,


David

[erick]

I'm a bit slow, sorry. I was just looking at the image and thought I'd better wash off those coffee spots that look like Moons and I saw :eyepop: the orbits marked in. That is really a great presentation of your images Rolf, as others have said. Well done and congrats on IOTW! :thumbsup:

(for others whose screen was as dull and grotty as mine, I took the liberty, hope that is OK :question: , of tweaking the contrast and attached so I could highlight one thing that everyone was so excited about.)

[danielsun]

Awesome work and brilliant presentation!!
A different and very well deserving IOTW! Well done.:thumbsup:

Cheers Daniel.