Saturn storm in STrZ 19th June in good seeing

[Quark (Trevor)]

Hi All,

Imaged the storm in the STrZ last night 19th June 2009 in good seeing, 7/10.

Used my 16" F4.5 Newt with DMK 21AU04 CCD, Orion filter wheel and Astronomik Type IIc RGB filters.

I have posted 4 RGB's and an animation of those images.
Each R, G & B channel was a capture of 1000 frames with the best 400 to 450 from each avi stacked.

The vast majority of my images thus far have been captured through a 3 x Bintel ED Barlow. I have just ordered a 2" 4 x Powermate and am looking forward to better resolution and a slight gain in image scale.

The storm in these images, even though the seeing was considerably better than the last time I captured this storm on 11th June, is not as bright. This would be a direct result of the fluctuations in the number of SED's (Saturn Electrostatic Discharge) episodes. If this storm can survive for another few weeks it will become the longest lived storm recorded at Saturn.

Thanks for Looking

[Lester]

Good collection of images Trevor.

[Octane (Humayun)]

Trevor,

These are fascinating.

The dedication to your chosen specialty is inspiring. I am most impressed.

Regards,
Humayun

[Jazza11 (Jeremy)]

Thats some really nice images of saturn and that storm just a quick question where did u get ur scope from did u buy it or make it urself

[Quark (Trevor)]

Originally Posted by Jazza11

Thats some really nice images of saturn and that storm just a quick question where did u get ur scope from did u buy it or make it urself

Thanks, my scope is a 16" Meade Starfinder and I purchased it about 15 years ago, however my Meade works. It is highly modified.

I designed and built my own 27 point primary mirror cell and my own secondary mirror spider and mount. There is no flex in my system which was a major fault with the original Meade design. Collimation is not a problem with this scope.

I have installed a JMI Moto Focus and heavily reinforced both the inside and outside wall of the scope tube where the focuser is mounted. I have baffled the scope tube and designed & built my own Peltier cooler for my primary mirror.

The scope is mounted on a German Equatorial mount designed & built by me, it is fitted with an Anssen technologies dual axis drive & drive corrector by Peter Mellander.

My setup is quite unique.

Originally Posted by Octane

Trevor,

These are fascinating.

The dedication to your chosen specialty is inspiring. I am most impressed.

Regards,
Humayun

Thanks Humayun for your kind words, I continually strive to improve my data gathering and processing technique in an effort to provide images of scientific value. To live in the OZ outback and be part of an international effort is most satisfying

Since I have been posting on IIS I have come across many extremely dedicated and talented imagers, both astronomical and terrestrial, whose work I find inspirational and you sir are right up there.

Originally Posted by Lester

Good collection of images Trevor.

Thanks Lester, the weather has been good for the last week but I think it is looking crook for the next little while.

[bird (Anthony Wesley)]

Well done Trevor, some very nice images there...

cheers, Bird

[Kevnool (Kev)]

Another set of great images again Trev.
Every time i see them i just have to have a peek.
Cheers Kev.

[Matty P (Matt)]

Great images Trevor. It is interesting to see Saturn's rings so dim.

Well done.

[iceman (Mike)]

Nice work Trev, good colour on these.

[coco smoko (Stephen)]

those rings have almost no light on them. Looks like someone flicked a switch...............

[John K]

Nice work Trevor - I think you are still one of the few people imaging Saturn

[RB (Andrew)]

Excellent work Trevor and great colours as well.
Love the animation too, even though the storm is dimmer it's great to watch.

Well done mate.

[Quark (Trevor)]

Originally Posted by bird

Well done Trevor, some very nice images there...

cheers, Bird

Thanks Anthony, the seeing has been great of late, but I have had yr 9 students from MLC School from Sydney visiting. They have been coming to Broken Hill annually for about 8 years and any students interested in astronomy visit my observatory in small groups, 6 max, until all that are interested have been. That is why I missed the storm on the 15th. I am lucky the good seeing hung around for me.

Originally Posted by Kevnool

Another set of great images again Trev.
Every time i see them i just have to have a peek.
Cheers Kev.

Thanks Kev, the last couple of times I have imaged the storm the seeing has been pretty crook but I am quite pleased with this set of images.

Originally Posted by Matty P

Great images Trevor. It is interesting to see Saturn's rings so dim.

Well done.

Thanks Matty, The Earth Saturn separation continues to increase as the rings close and the apparent diameter diminishes, all contributing to the dimming of the rings.

Originally Posted by iceman

Nice work Trev, good colour on these.

Thanks Mike, hope my Powermate turns up before I lose Saturn below the top of my neighbors palm tree. I am thinking I might get a slight improvement in resolution and colour compared to images from my Taiwanese 3x Ed Barlow.

Originally Posted by coco smoko

those rings have almost no light on them. Looks like someone flicked a switch...............

Yes, they do look pretty dim, looking forward to the next 9 years as Saturn will move further south each year. By 2018 Saturn will be at a dec of -22 degrees, nearly overhead for Australian amateurs.

Originally Posted by John K

Nice work Trevor - I think you are still one of the few people imaging Saturn

Thanks John, I have been imaging this storm since it first formed in mid Jan this year and I have been providing positional data to Georg Fischer at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Georg needs the optical data to compare with the radio data he receives from the Cassini space craft for his analysis of whats driving these electro magnetic disturbances.

It is a bonus to do this in good seeing and get nice images but more important is to be able to provide an accurate position of the storm and any changes in morphology of the storm.

Due to my remote location I have been able to provide a pretty consistent supply of data and will do so for as long as Saturn is above my local horizon, that is my neighbors palm tree.

Originally Posted by RB

Excellent work Trevor and great colours as well.
Love the animation too, even though the storm is dimmer it's great to watch.

Well done mate.

Thanks Andrew, although the still images, combined with accurate timing, provide the best positional data for the storms, I really enjoy combining the data into an animation and watching the amazing amount of movement over such relatively short time scales. There is no doubt that Saturn looks stunning when viewed through a descent scope but an animation, when there is a storm present or a moon transit, really does demonstrate the rapid rotation of the planet.

[Octane (Humayun)]

Trevor,

Any chance of an accident occuring whereby the neighbour's palm tree disappears overnight?

Regards,
Humayun

[Quark (Trevor)]

Originally Posted by Octane

Trevor,

Any chance of an accident occuring whereby the neighbour's palm tree disappears overnight?

Regards,
Humayun

Well H ..... I sort of doubt it, but I like the way you think.

It is a date palm, very broad and relatively squat, but the upper fronds effectively reduce my Nth Nth West horizon by about 35 degrees. This tree is right on our boundary and it actually can be an asset for me at times. Because it is so broad, if my neighbor does turn on any outside lights the tree does a very nice job of shielding the light.

I really am looking forward to the next few years, with Saturn rising much higher as it swings further south in Dec.