Mercury and Saturn

Great shots!

I can guess how difficult Mercury was I didn't get a chance to image it yet.

I see your using 5fps, if the TUC Pro isn't in RAw mode there's no problem in using 10fps, immediately doubling your frames. The problem only arises in that the RAW uncompressed frames are just far to large to go down USB(1) at anything greater than 5fps, this doesnt happen with th standard TUC Pro.

Keep up the good work.

Dave Gradwell

Dont know if this should be a new subject or not but here's a challenge.

Who can be the first to image Saturns North Pole!!

I've emailed Damian Peach about when it will actually appear above the rings and am waiting for an answer. I know that it will deffinitely be visible by its next apparition. Anyone with a webcam and a 6 inch scope or larger should be able to do it.


Dave Gradwell

Michael,
I collected about 1400 frames but stacked the best 600, I found that any more then that actually degraded the image!! This is the first time I'ver seen this happen. The seeing started off as average and got worse later on, soon after a big dark cloud came along.

DaveG, I'm just practicing the 5fps
I was looking hard at the saturn image trying to decide if there is even a peek of the disk above the rings, it is certainly very near if not at the edge.

According to starry night, you should be able to see a tiny sliver of the disk above the rings from mid May on, but if will be in the evening sky far in the west, near the horison, making it a difficult target!

I was just looking at the image of saturn again and I noticed a wierd effect.
Its as if you can see the disk of saturn "through" the outer ring on top.

Isn't this impossible ? I've never seen this before in any other image.
Can anyone else see this, or am I imagining this?
I wonder how that happened ????????

I think it can be seen Dave. If you look at the image here that Dave Gradwell took, you can see the shape of the disc through the rings too.

Now, thinking about it, could it also be an optical illusion? Is it your brain filling the gap of the part of the planetary disc that you cannot see because of the rings? Or, are the rings thin enough that you CAN see it?



Seanie.

I reckon it's the disc shining through the rings.