Saturn with lpi.

[Starcrazzy]

Hi,
The skies finally cleared enough for me to get the scope out and do some imaging..I recently moved to Vincentia which has exellent dark skies so ive been hangin to do some observing..I got this shot of saturn with the lpi through my 8 " eq5 newt..I think im reaching the limits of the scope..I used a 2x Barlow and im quite happy with the results..Has anyone got any ideas how i might pull a little more detail out of the rings and the atmosphere banding??
cheers;)

[[1ponders]]

To increase your image scale you need to increase your focal length with either a higher power barlow/powermate or use some form of tele-extender. With an 8" scope you can get a lot better resolution than what you are achieving (assuming seeing will allow it)

With an 8" scope and a FL of 4000mm you will be able to get shots similar to this if not better http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=751&d=1108912506 (Taken with an 8"sct )

[Starcrazzy]

thanks ponders, ill try that...and i thought it was pretty good..lol....can get alot better hey??wouldn't foussing be hassle at that sort of mag?:shrug:

[[1ponders]]

I can be tricky especially in dodgy seeing. I find a hartmann mask helped when initially learning to focus. But once you've picked up what to look for then it isn't always necessary.

Do a bit of search through the solar system forum for saturn and jupiter images taken with the LPI. You'll get a more realistic idea of what can be achieved. I was using a ToUcam which has different pixels sizes so the resolution is slightly different.

Heres a few from a search
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=7880&highlight=LPI
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=2947&highlight=LPI
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=2914&highlight=LPI
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=5897&highlight=LPI
And lucky last
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=1678&highlight=LPI

[Starcrazzy]

Exo, thanx ponders...i'll deffintley have to invest in a 4X...addicted am i...

[Robert_T]

Hi Starcrazy, nice shot and one of the better ones of Saturn I've seen with the LPI. A little extra image scale will help, but I suspect to get the best out of low surface brightness planets like saturn you'll evenually need the extra sensitivity of a CCD webcam like the Toucam or neximage.

Do a quick search on the Solar System threads for Saturn and you'll see what I mean. Dennis's from a couple weeks back is a pearler.

cheers,