Saturn this Morning - 4th Nov 06

hi frank
well done try using the X2 BARLOW LENS in your eye opener kit it will make the image much bigger and download rigistax v4 it is brillent play a round with it here is the link and well done again and if you need any advice v4 you know were to get me.


registax.astronomy.net/html/download.html

Thanks to everybody for all the comments.
I very much appreciate all your help.

I used a 2X Meade Aprochromatic Barlow with the webcam.
10 fps.
Resolution 352 X 288
I took it off full automatic controll
and lowered the Gamma & Saturation to roughly a quarter on the slider.

I can see now that I should have used a faster frame rate
and taken a longer AVI.

I'm gonna give it another go this morning,
that is if my scopes drive doesn't drive me batty in the process.
It's got so much rubberbanding, I swear, I could use it as a slingshot
to take out that pesky street in my FOV. :twisted:

While on the subject of FPS

Could it be an idea to use thouse High speed cameras (1000fps) i guess they need loads of light? (Aperture) Anyone know of any attempts, is it possible?

I my view a very good image, i only get a "saturn shaped" kind of blob

Well done Frank,
it certainly beats anything I've got so far on Saturn.
You're obviously very dedicated also - either staying up all night or getting up very early in the AM.

Hi Frank,

I suggest you try 20 fps and a five-min AVI which translates to 6000 frames and a very good sample for processing. For Mars and Jupiter, planetary rotation is an issue and features will become blurred with such an extended video capture. In contrast, Saturn is much more forgiving since there are no features (99.9% of the time) to cause us blurring and, as a result, the modus operandi is longer videos.

Many version of Windows have a limit on the size of each file which is at 2 Gb. To this end, please be careful not to exceed this limit. With 6000 frames and a 640x480 frame, you are looking at 3 Gb. With your reduced frame size, there should be no problem. If possible, try and get your capture with Saturn as high as possible so as o maximize contrast and minimize the adverse atmospheric effects which impact seeing.

Good luck!

PS. If possible, defragment your hard disk so that the free space will be contiguous and there will be no dropped frames during the video capture.