First Decent(ish) attempts - Saturn, M42

Yay! It looks like all the research on this site and cloudynight is paying off. I finally got a couple of shots I like (after many many terrible attempts).

thelunarscape.com/TheLunarScape/ImagePost/FirstDecentSaturn.jpg
thelunarscape.com/TheLunarScape/ImagePost/FirstDecentM42.jpg
thelunarscape.com/TheLunarScape/ImagePost/M42TrackingOff.jpg

M42 was taken with the Newtonian and my 7D at prime focus using a Baader MPCC (without the MPCC I get horrible results, particularly on Lunar shots). First one is 20 seconds and the second is 2 minutes (you can see the tracking is going awry in this one).

Saturn was taken using the Maksutov with a home modified Quickcam for Notebooks pro. No electronic mods, just made an adapter to mount it and removed the lens. The avi was 8833 frames and stacked in Registax. Thanks to all here on the info for that program; it's brilliant.

Next step is to try and figure out why I can get nowhere near this clarity with the Newtonian on planets, even visually. I think it's perfectly collimated but the results I get are absolutely terrible, yet far better for deep sky. All in the learning process I guess. I guess it's something to do with it being F5 so maybe I need better EPs than on the F10 Mak?

Oh, Saturn was taken from my yard in Salthill and M42 from Furbo, which was absolutely FREEZING!!!!!!

Can't wait to try and get some more deep sky stuff. This is one addictive hobby.

Thanks all for the wonderful site.


T

Trevor - worthy efforts in this freezing cold

I like Saturn very much, I can easily see a lot of detail there!

Well Done, I hope to see some more of your shots soon!

Keith..

Trevor - these are great images for you first efforts.

Even the 2 minute M42 isn;t actually too bad with the marginally trailed stars.

Planets are tricky with a fast Newt - as you say collimation is a regular requirement. If the planets don't behave for you, keep at the deep sky stuff. Try a 30 second shot on M64...

Cheers

Dave

Great first images Trevor, what camera did you use for Saturn ??
Did you use a IR filter when imaging saturn, I found it makes a marked improvement in that it prevents the image form getting washed out.

hi all,

thanks for the replies.

The camera used for Saturn was a Logitech quickcam pro for notebooks that I got for work but barely used. The mount I made for it is a bit wiggly so I doubt it was completely parallel with the focuser, but close enough. This was just for testing to see if I could get decent results. I am thinking of getting the Celestron NexImage with an IR filter for some better results, particularly with Jupiter getting close to opposition. Just wasn't sure if that filter was necessary, but since it's much less than the price of a good eyepiece I think I'll order one soon. it's a little cheaper than an SBIG
The quickcam only has a CMOS sensor, so I guess there will be a decent improvement with the celestron.

Haven't tried m64 yet, but have tried m81, m82 and m31 from Salthill with the expected results, i.e. just get the bare core because of the light pollution. Next time out at a dark sky I'll definitely try it though.

thanks for the advice.

Next stop, Horsehead. Just kidding

Trev

M64 is a good target - you won't get the core washout you've experienced. Here's an image I took a while back:


www.astroshack.net/gallery/galaxies/M64.php

Dave