Imaged Jupiter last night Oct 29th.
It started out clear and very still with no wind but it had been a hot day and when I commenced my first capture sequence the ambient temp was still 27.2 C. I didn't really expect the seeing to be more than average due to the temperature, however I was most surprised and somewhat elated at the quality of the live feed from my DMK. Even the blue channel looked good and revealed some very nice structure & detail.
Later in the night my imaging was slightly effected by some high level Cirrus that was wafting through, I could not actually see the cloud but its presence was detected by the falling off of the signal in my histogram.
I would rate the seeing at 7 to 7 1/2 / 10 a very nice night and clearly my highest resolution images for Oct, well I was away on holidays for 17 nights early in the month. I must say that nights like this really justify living in the remote Out Back of Australia.
I have attached 4 of the 7 RGB's from this night covering the CMII at 230.3, 250.3, 288.9 and 298.6 degrees respectively.
For these RGB's the data was good enough to stack between 900 & 1000 frames of the available 1200 frames from each channel.
My first image at 10:39 UTC has an interesting view of the GRS close to the Eastern limb, of particular interest is the white feature seemingly streaming out of the GRS surround into the SEB. I note there has already been considerable discussion on this feature but I didn't expect it to appear so prominent so close to the limb. Although the SEB is fading the four barges in this image are still very bright red and there really is considerable detail, overall, throughout this and the other images.
The second of the four images was slightly effected by some high level Cirrus cloud.
I am very confident of being able to extract more from this data, note I am a bit of an old fossil and a command line challenged ex mine worker. These images have undergone a pretty quick processing job so that I could post them today, however I will be putting a lot more effort into this data over ther next few days.
A wonderful set of images Trevor and thank you for sharing them. I am also appreciative of the effort you go to with your commentary, explaining the various features in your images.
Wonderful - something to aspire to. Hoping to get out again this weekend and have a serious go with my lowly C8, 2.5x powermate, and DBK21.
Thanks very much Troy, there is nothing wrong with a C8. Please check out the links I have attached for some C8 inspiration. This guy, Torsten Hansen, is producing some amazing high res Jupiter images at most impressive image scale for an 8" scope.
A wonderful set of images Trevor and thank you for sharing them. I am also appreciative of the effort you go to with your commentary, explaining the various features in your images.
Good job as always.
Wayne
Thanks very much Wayne, I think it is good to provide some commentary on the images. I have heard some describe planetary imaging as boring, but, especially with such a dynamic planet as Jupiter, there is always something happening, changing sort of evolving. The challenge is to obtain high enough resolution images to demonstrate that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ric
Very nice indeed Trevor, you've captured some wonderful details.
I'll be looking forward to the next batch of images.
Cheers
Thanks Ric, I am very pleased with this data set, if only I was more competent at extracting the detail, but I am definitely working on it.
Wow – another superb set of Jupiter portraits, well done! I particularly like the 3rd one (12:16 UTC), it really jumped out at me. Thanks for sharing these wonderful results. As Wayne has already written, thank you for the on going commentary describing your images too, it enriches the viewing experience.
Wow – another superb set of Jupiter portraits, well done! I particularly like the 3rd one (12:16 UTC), it really jumped out at me. Thanks for sharing these wonderful results. As Wayne has already written, thank you for the on going commentary describing your images too, it enriches the viewing experience.
Cheers
Dennis
Thanks so much Dennis, I even woke up the wife and son in the early hours of this morning to tell them all about it, I tend to get a tad excitable when I get really nice data.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lacad01
Lots of great details, thanks for posting
Thanks Adam, for your comment, I really do appreciate it.
I'm amazed at the small image scale of Jupiter now! It's been ages since I've seen it.
Nice work.
Thanks very much Mike, for image 3, I was able to stack 1000 frames for each channel. For these images Jup was 42 arc sec's and back in August it was 49 arc sec's.
Last edited by Quark; 30-10-2009 at 06:13 PM.
Reason: grammer
Lovely images Trevor. You have indeed had a good year. Nice detail and very smooth images.
Thanks very much Paul, I think building a peltier for my primary has been a bit of a turning point for me, that and having stable air often enough to utilize it.
Great stuff Trevor, you've certainly had a bumper year when most others have struggled. Says lots for the desert skies (and not a little about your growing skills)!
Great stuff Trevor, you've certainly had a bumper year when most others have struggled. Says lots for the desert skies (and not a little about your growing skills)!
Hi Trevor
Really nice series - I do like your processing as you achieve smooth well coloured images.
Will you target Mars? (sorry if you have - I have not been on line for a week or so).
See ya
Hi Trevor
Really nice series - I do like your processing as you achieve smooth well coloured images.
Will you target Mars? (sorry if you have - I have not been on line for a week or so).
See ya
Thanks Matt, I do work hard at fine tuning my processing regime, it is such a subjective thing. I try to produce consistent results but really in the end, the quality of the data far outweighs all other considerations.
Matt, I have been imaging Mars in IR. I am involved in a Pro-Am collaboration with a guy from the Goddard Space Flight Centre. He requires very specific Mars and stellar data for his project which involves using the Deep Impact space craft to image Mars for 24 hrs on Nov 19th.