Little scope, little planet

[thegableguy (Chris)]

Mars with an ED80 and a DSLR.

I did a search on Astrobin to see what sort of results I could hope for; not many to compare it to but it seems this is about average - particularly considering it's clouding over and we had a huge backburn nearby today.

I tried with a 2x Barlow last night and it was just too small. I have a 5x Barlow but I can't figure out a way to reliably, safely attach it directly to the camera (and I think it's pretty low quality).

This shot is a result of taking both Barlows and a T-adapter apart and combining them in random ways; this combo seems to be the best compromise between magnification and aperture. It... sort of worked, I suppose. Hoping to get a night of good clear skies and see what difference it makes.

Approx 3000 frames, using the best 800. Stacked in Registax, edited in Photoshop.

Any tips to get the most out of this basic rig would be appreciated. Can one get more detail from planets with a 600mm refractor or is this near the limit?

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

That already looks pretty good for 80mm of aperture. But I'm all for pushing things to the limit and beyond. After you're done with that a bit more aperture will go a long way.

[astronobob (Bob)]

Well heck yeah Chris, thats damn keool for ED80, I was flat out getting any where near that with a C8, Lol reckon I need to borrow your Barlow contraption champ, looks like a winner in my books... We ll done one thumb for each Barlow

[luka]

Did you use wavelets in registax? That will make a HUGE difference.

(I will post some ED80 Mars images shortly so you have something to compare to)
edit: Images are here

[thegableguy (Chris)]

Originally Posted by janoskiss

That already looks pretty good for 80mm of aperture. But I'm all for pushing things to the limit and beyond. After you're done with that a bit more aperture will go a long way.

Thanks for that. Yep, one day considerably more aperture will be on the cards. I see you're a fan of the fast Newts - I expect one of those will be the next OTA purchase. Probably not this year, but eventually.

[thegableguy (Chris)]

Originally Posted by astronobob

Well heck yeah Chris, thats damn keool for ED80, I was flat out getting any where near that with a C8, Lol reckon I need to borrow your Barlow contraption champ, looks like a winner in my books... We ll done one thumb for each Barlow

Ha! Thanks mate. With all the stunning Mars images being posted here I feel like the dumbest kid in the class who somehow swung a C- on a test and everyone cheers for him because he didn't completely fail...!

[thegableguy (Chris)]

Originally Posted by luka

Did you use wavelets in registax? That will make a HUGE difference.

(I will post some ED80 Mars images shortly so you have something to compare to)
edit: Images are here

Yeah yours are definitely better!! Very impressive. I'm using a 2x and a 5x Barlow yet you somehow managed more magnification than me; is that down to the camera? I'm using a DSLR which I know is not ideal - Mars was pretty damn small in the viewfinder. Clearly not a star but not significantly bigger than one.

And yep used wavelets - I was amazed how much difference it made.

[thegableguy (Chris)]

Had another play around with the two Barlows today and found a way of combining them that gives a bit more oomph. Converting the videos to AVI now, will post in the beginner imaging section when they're done...

[luka]

Originally Posted by thegableguy

Yeah yours are definitely better!! Very impressive. I'm using a 2x and a 5x Barlow yet you somehow managed more magnification than me; is that down to the camera? I'm using a DSLR which I know is not ideal - Mars was pretty damn small in the viewfinder. Clearly not a star but not significantly bigger than one.

And yep used wavelets - I was amazed how much difference it made.

Still a great effort. I don't think I have seen anything but a fuzzy ball when I first started.

You are pushing the ED80 past its limits and a good seeing makes a huge difference. HUGE.

The size will depend on the Barlow(s) that you use and also on the sensor. Webcams usually have smaller sensors and hence larger magnification. A crop DSLR body will give you larger magnification.
By the way, the quoted magnification of Barlows is not very accurate. My 2x Barlow may be different than your 2x Barlow. You can also extend them and get higher magnification.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Originally Posted by thegableguy

I see you're a fan of the fast Newts - I expect one of those will be the next OTA purchase.

It's a matter of economics: Newtonians deliver the most aperture per dollar, and, if you set them up right, perform extremely well. The fact that they're fast is out of necessity: just try imagine mounting and using e.g. a 12" f/8 Newt (which for a 12" Cassegrain would be slow).

If you're going to get a Newt for planetary imaging, you're best off with the slowest mirror you can still manage, and customising the secondary for narrow FOV, minimal obstruction, max contrast. And check out previous posts (going way back) by Bird (Anthony Wesley), IIS's Newtonian planetary imaging guru.

[astronobob (Bob)]

Originally Posted by thegableguy

Ha! Thanks mate. With all the stunning Mars images being posted here I feel like the dumbest kid in the class who somehow swung a C- on a test and everyone cheers for him because he didn't completely fail...!

Any Mars image with landscape markings speshly with good clean contrast like yours is No fail, Chris.
Great to also see your encouragement here for others who are imaging planets with-out the very expensive WizBand Optics
Very Credible Image & Post

[Nikolas (Nik)]

That's a decent result using a dslr on that scope, A real decent effort!