Imaged Mars and Saturn this morning in good seeing 6/10.
This was probably the best conditions I have had for Mars so far.
I have posted a high res RGB along with a labeled version of the same image.
Have also posted an animation of RGB's covering 38 min's of rotation.
Also posted 2 IR images that are very high res. There are many well defined features visible in these images.
Finished off with an RGB of Saturn, also in good seeing. Sadly I can find no electrical storms in it but as Saturn rises higher and gets brighter I am sure I will track some down.
What a wonderful set of pictures. I am so envious ... I went out at 0200 here in Perth and the first thing I noticed was the smell of smoke in the air (again). Conditions were as they say less than optimal and I just went back to bed. One day I hope to get results at least half as good as yours. For now I will live vicariously through your superb efforts.
What a wonderful set of pictures. I am so envious ... I went out at 0200 here in Perth and the first thing I noticed was the smell of smoke in the air (again). Conditions were as they say less than optimal and I just went back to bed. One day I hope to get results at least half as good as yours. For now I will live vicariously through your superb efforts.
all the best
Thanks Paul, it was quite warm out here last night with the temp still 28 C at 3 am CSST. However the sky looked just great, the stars were very steady almost to the horizon.
I am sure you will achieve what you want with your imaging, remember to hasten slowly and concentrate on the things that you can control, collimation, focus and mirror temperature.
The Mars RGB is very good, however the blue channel seems to be overtaking the image a bit.
How do you combine the colour channels? PS or AstraImage?
Thanks Mike, I reckon this is my best thus far. I combine my channels in AstraImage Pro 3.
For these RGB's I used the exposure and gain to match histogram levels for the 3 channels as I always do for Saturn and Jupiter.
With Jupiter I never feel the need to adjust colour balance but with these Mars RGB's I made a minor adjustment, again in AstraImage. Made a slight reduction in G and B levels.
I don't have much experience with Mars and RGB. This last few months has been the first time that I have used the DMK on Mars and most of that has been IR for Tim Livengoods project.
What do you suggest regarding the blue channel, I have been thinking about reducing the histogram for blue and maybe green a bit but that seem to go against the whole supposition of relying on the histogram for colour balance?
And thank you for posting.
Nice to see Saturn again but it's Mar's we're all interested in.
Great images.
Thanks Jeanette for the encouragement, I really enjoy capturing the data and refining my processing regime, especially with Mars as I have very little experience imaging it with my DMK. Glad you enjoyed the images.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Troy
Good pictures Trevor,
hopefully as mars gets closer even more detail will be seen on the pictures
Thanks Troy, Mars will get a little larger but it has just about reached its maximum altitude for us in Australia. It really is time now to get out and take advantage of every morning of reasonable seeing to record the best of this apparition over the next 8 weeks or so.
Super shots.
I'm experimenting at the moment and I'm finding if I worry less about histos and more on the final image, the result is often, not always tho', more pleasing.
Keep 'em coming!
MC
Peter
Thanks Mike, I reckon this is my best thus far. I combine my channels in AstraImage Pro 3.
For these RGB's I used the exposure and gain to match histogram levels for the 3 channels as I always do for Saturn and Jupiter.
With Jupiter I never feel the need to adjust colour balance but with these Mars RGB's I made a minor adjustment, again in AstraImage. Made a slight reduction in G and B levels.
I don't have much experience with Mars and RGB. This last few months has been the first time that I have used the DMK on Mars and most of that has been IR for Tim Livengoods project.
What do you suggest regarding the blue channel, I have been thinking about reducing the histogram for blue and maybe green a bit but that seem to go against the whole supposition of relying on the histogram for colour balance?
Hi Trev
I'd probably try reducing the intensity of the blue channel when recombining - setting it to 1.1 or 1.15 (experiment) and leaving R and G at 1.
Ideally you want to capture all channels with the same histogram, but that doesn't always mean the colour balance will be right - especially with objects that are lower on the horizon like Mars.
Very nice images again Trevor. The detail on Mars with shadings within Sytis Major that seem to show elevation, or something are very good.
Thanks for the view.
Thanks Lester, yep, I am pretty pleased with the level of detail as well.
This being the first apparition of Mars that I have applied my DMK, I really don't have any previous images with a 16" scope to compare the resolution of the various features. These images will become my reference images, although I am hopping for more improvement toward the end of January at opposition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Waxing_Gibbous
Super shots.
I'm experimenting at the moment and I'm finding if I worry less about histos and more on the final image, the result is often, not always tho', more pleasing.
Keep 'em coming!
MC
Peter
Thanks Peter, I suppose the importance of histo levels depends on what you are trying to achieve. To produce images for latter scientific evaluation, I think the histo levels are very important. With images that are purely taken for their aesthetic value, then things become so much more subjective and they really only have to please the individual taste of the imager. Fortunately the knowledge base of those posting on this forum is such that advice is always available, whatever our path may be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mswhin63
Nice images can't wait for Saturn to come up in late evening.
As am I, by then Saturn will be considerably higher, brighter and should be able to take longer F/L for more image scale.
Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman
Hi Trev
I'd probably try reducing the intensity of the blue channel when recombining - setting it to 1.1 or 1.15 (experiment) and leaving R and G at 1.
Ideally you want to capture all channels with the same histogram, but that doesn't always mean the colour balance will be right - especially with objects that are lower on the horizon like Mars.
Thanks for the advice Mike, I do appreciate it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StephenM
Great stuff Trevor! I haven't managed to get a look at Mars through the scope recently, but should get a chance after Christmas.
Cheers,
Stephen
Thanks Stephen, currently by about 4:30 am CSST Mars is as high as it will get for this apparition so it is high enough to observe quite well from about 2am CSST
Was fascinated by all the features you've picked up on Mars' surface.
Awesome, mate.
Regards,
Humayun
Thanks very much H, this is the first apparition of Mars that I have applied my DMK to. Each planet presents a different challenge and this changes year to year with their differing apparent radii and orientations as well as altitude.
I am really enjoying Mars and am continually fine tuning my capture and processing regime and given good seeing, hope that my results demonstrate this.
I am a big fan of your work, particularly your creativity and how you think outside the square. These qualities cannot really be applied to planetary imaging, however I do strive to reveal the finest detail that my system is capable of by fastidious attention to details such as collimation, focus and mirror temperature. Also put considerable effort into my processing.
Thanks again for your comment, I really do appreciate it especially from a imager of your calibre.
Last edited by Quark; 28-12-2009 at 01:50 PM.
Reason: grammer
. Conditions were as they say less than optimal and I just went back to bed. One day I hope to get results at least half as good as yours. For now I will live vicariously through your superb efforts.
