Saturn at Opposition

[Mickoid (Michael)]

Took this last night (27th) to capture Saturn in Opposition, the first one for this planet season. Passing cloud cleared long enough to capture some LRGB data with my guiding camera, the ZWOASI120mms. Probably pushed the magnification too much for the 8 inch Newt with a 5X Powermate especially considering the variable conditions but I took the gamble. It's not going to win any awards, just a personal record of Saturn at Opposition this year.

[xelasnave]

Look like a winner to me Michael ...it is a decent capture. Well done.

alex

[Saturnine (Jeff)]

That was worth the gamble, not a bad image , all considered, was it an f5 or f6 newt, either way you were imaging at f25 or f30 which is a bit more than is usually advised. The only critique I will make is that the image is a bit too purple compared to most.
Anyway, thanks for posting, it is a fine record of this years Opposition.

[Mickoid (Michael)]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

Look like a winner to me Michael ...it is a decent capture. Well done.

alex

Thanks Alex, it's decent but could have been better. With planetary photography, you're at the mercy of the atmosphere. If you're fortunate enough to be capturing data during times when the atmosphere is temporarily stable, you'll get the best result. Hence the term, " Lucky Imaging ".

Originally Posted by Saturnine

That was worth the gamble, not a bad image , all considered, was it an f5 or f6 newt, either way you were imaging at f25 or f30 which is a bit more than is usually advised. The only critique I will make is that the image is a bit too purple compared to most.
Anyway, thanks for posting, it is a fine record of this years Opposition.

Thanks Jeff, it's an F5 Newt, so F25 would be what I was shooting at. The colour may be off, getting the balance right between the R,G and B filtered shots is something I find tricky. You're correct, it does look a bit purple, though it did look different when viewed in Photoshop.

[Bodon (Steve)]

Michael really nice. Well done.

[Dave882 (David)]

Great work that’s a really nice image and record of the opposition! You’re right, planetary imaging is totally at the mercy of the conditions. Gotta be lucky!

[Mickoid (Michael)]

Thanks Steve and David, no comparison to the detail achieved with a 14 inch. I'm envious of your great shots posted David. It must be amazing looking at Saturn through such a large aperture and seeing the detail 'pop out' on screen. We were fortunate that the cloud cleared on the night of the 27th here in Melbourne long enough to capture a few photons from the ringed planet.

[oska (John)]

Fantastic Michael at a significant FL, well done.