Problems trying to Image Jupiter

Hi All, Been trying to image Jupiter for the last few nights without success. I am new to this so I would welcome any advice / assistance on the subject. My set up is a Nikon D7000 attached to the visual back of my Celestron 8se. I recently purchased a T Ring connector which I understood would allow me to capture such planets as Jupiter. However, despite trying a range of aperture and ISO settings all I get is a blob of white light when I zoom in on the image, no sign of any rings or other details. I suspect I need more magnification or should I be able to capture some detail with my current set up?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Declan

Hi Declan

Are you taking single frames or a video of Jupiter? With single frames you are at the mercy of atmospheric turbulence which is constantly blurring the image even on a good night. You might be lucky and catch it while it is very still but it is very hard to do and you need a lot of luck. The best way is to take a video of around 1000 frames and use Registax to pick put the best frames for stacking. A webcam is the best way to do this but your Nikon should work. I'm not sure if Registax can handle MOV files (normally AVI) but there are file convertors available I believe.

Declan,
Yes, as John said, you need to take a video using your camera. Getting the exposure and settings like that correct is tricky. I've never used a DSLR for this but it is possible I think. You can get really good results with a webcam. Then use registax or Autostakkert2 to process the video into one image. I think about a 2min video is the max before Jupiter;s rotation becomes an issue.
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Jerry Lodrigues has a book on DSLR planetery imaging here.
www.astropix.com/GDPI/INTRO.HTM


Derek

Thanks for the advice guys, I was taking single frames so I will try using video and Registax and let you know how I got on.

Thanks again

Declan

Hi Declan

It's definitely possible with a DSLR and I used to do it all the time and could even get the ice caps on Mars although you want to look out for a planetary camera or even a webcam.

For DSLR (Canon) needs to have video. 1100d and up I think. You download EOS Movie Recorder (or in your case Nikons equivalent) for free you then want to use this with your camera connected and keep the image faint but with detail I used mostly ISO 800 on my scope but it depends so play with it in movie recorder. It is possible to manually track jupiter but you want it as steady as possible.

You can start with just prime focus but you will most certainly want a 2x or 3 x Barlow lens which you can use for further imaging regardless of what camera you use.

Download Autostakkert2 as well you will want to be using this and Registax.

Good Luck
Clear Skies

Yes John just reminded me when reading the other posts as it was a while back since I used the DSLR. You will most likely need to convert the files (definitely from Canon anyway) and you should download both PIPP and VIrtualDub - these two will come in handy for all sorts of conversions and formats.