Jupiter, Ganymede, Io-Canberra - 1145UT

[matt]

Seeing was pretty ordinary last night. At best a 4 out of 10

On the laptop screen the detail was getting a hammering from the JS.

The usual - 9.25, 3x barlow, ToUcam Pro II.

Cheers

[davidpretorius]

nice work on the moonage matt, not sure if anyone got the shadow though

top stuff

[matt]

Thanks, Dave.

I really thought about staying out there to capture the shadow/s but it was so cold and the seeing so bad...I just jumped at the chance of some shut eye.

Wussed it!

[iceman (Mike)]

Still a very nice image for the conditions. The colours are great, scale is nice.

Well worth capturing and posting, not everyday you get double-moonage.

[gbeal]

I'd be happy with that Matt. This year I have had about 4 - 5 cracks at Jupiter, and none have even come close the "smoothness" you have here. Such is life in this island paradise.

[bird (Anthony Wesley)]

Hi Matt, nice image there. btw there was no jetstream last night, the seeing was very still and good out this way.

How are you cooling your scope? I imagine it must be a bit tricky to get a SCT to ambient at this time of year.

regards, Bird

[matt]

Originally Posted by bird

the seeing was very still and good out this way.

How are you cooling your scope? I imagine it must be a bit tricky to get a SCT to ambient at this time of year.

Hi Anthony.

What a difference 50Ks can make, eh?

We've discussed and marveled at that on numerous occasions, haven't we mate

Sure looked like JS on the lappy. Musta been some other localised effect

As far as cooling goes, I'm just working with the standard Lymax cooler and leaving the scope outside for a few hours before imaging to let it stabilise.

But yes, it's always a challenge during winter to 'chase' ambient and I will struggle without active cooling.

Would certainly have contributed to the loss of detail.

Ah well. It's all good fun anyway.

Cheers

[Dennis]

Hey Matt

That is an excellent image. Smooth appearance, gorgeous colours and rich in detail. Are you sure it was 3 to 4/10? I'd be stoked to produce such a fine image at 5 to 6/10.

I know it’s all relative and somewhat subjective, but 3 to 4/10 on my scale would result in just blurry bands – like this miserable effort from the previous double transit that compelled me to change to prime focus.

Cheers

Dennis

[matt]

Hmmm.

You might be right, Dennis.

It may have been a 5-6/10.

I think Bird has hit the nail on the head.

I was imaging between 9 and 10pm. So being an SCT, with no active cooling, I would have still been wrestling with mirror temp and air inside the tube.

Will definitely be a challenge to image this time of year in Canberra with an SCT.