Jupiter 28th and 29th july

Hey guys,

Long time since I've posted on this, but with the jupiter impact big news this week, I had to try to get an image or two!


this was taken on the 28th with my Meade 6" Lxd75 and a philips spc900nc.


taken with same setup on the 29th


Now i know what you're thinking, "I cant see any detail in any of these images at all!!" and I completely agree with you!

I would love if you guys could give me any advice on how to improve on these images because i would love to be able to have an image of the GRS and the impact site.

Any comments appreciated

Hi John,

Your images are very good and there is detail in both of them which is a very good start. Before heading out to image leave your scope out at least 1 to 2 hours so the OTA can cool down.

Next thing to do is check your collimation first through the eyepiece and then with the webcam. These links should help
www.astro-tom.com/telescopes/collimation.htm
www.astrosurf.com/legault/collim.html

If you have a Barlow 2or3 use them when the seeing allows you to. When imaging Jupiter your camera settings should be around 60percent GAIN and less on the shutter speed. Why you might say? if you don't use high Gain your image will be all grainy when you are finished processing it in registax. When processing your image DON'T use the optimizer because you will have vertical lines running through it.


Have a read through this www.astronomie.be/Registax/RegiStax4UserManual_Revision1.pdf . When the seeing is steady there is no need to use the optimizer. After you Align the image Press Limit now see where the options are on the top, click show stackgraph. On the stackgraph you will see one red line witch is the quality and a green witch is the alignment difference. Bring the line down to cut off any spikes. Then move the slider across to adjust the quality cut off point. Now PRESS stack, Once stacking is complete press Wavelet button adjust image to your liking Then press the DO ALL button.save image and head to PhotoShop.

Hope this helps. No one said it was going to be easy. Welcome to the world of planetary imaging.

Keep looking up,

Carl O'Beirnes,
Balbriggan Observatory (MPC #J09)
www.webtreatz.com

Thanks Carl,

considering that this is my first ever try at Jupiter "webcaming" Im delighted that i got the bands in Jupiters atmosphere, but like all astronomers i would like more!! :laugh:

I was out with the telescope about 3 hours before taking these avi's, and I feel that the collimation might have a big role to play in these images too (like you said).

I use a x2 barlow for all my planetary imaging. As for the gain and shutter speed, thats something I must put into practise!

BTW, I'm not sure if there is a way that i can get Photoshop for free online, I've searched but to no prevail! If you know how I would be very grateful if you could show me such a website.

Ah the beauty of astrophotography!! : cheer:

Thanks again Carl!

I hope to improve on these images next time!!

Hi John,
Mis-collimation is a big killer for planetary imaging. Use the webcom and the defocusing image on the screen to collimate, use a barlow if you can and give it a quick check with an eyepiece to make sure it all looks good. It is worth noting that some scopes hold collimation alot better then others, some say you must recollimate every night you go imaging, thankfully I dont have to.

Registax might look daunting at first, but with a little practice it becomes a simple program to use. Always try capturing with a barlow at least once during the night even if the seeing is bad, just incase it comes out better then you might have thought it would.

Hi John,

That's what it's all about trying to improve all the time It's.all about getting things right out at the scope makes processing very simple.

As for phoposhop Ya know it's highly illegal to discuss such a thing on a public forum due to copyright theft.:>)),

Carl O'Beirnes,
Balbriggan Observatory (MPC #J09)
www.webtreatz.com

I haven't captured any images worthy of final rendering in apps such as Photoshop - however I've downloaded the GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) for when I might want to.

See www.gimp.org/

Its a full featured image processing suite that is free. Check it out on the web generally. Only if this fails me would I consider spending money on something like photoshop.

BTW one other thing (apart from collimation) that might need to be addressed is focusing. This has been recommended to me on this board and I fully endorse it. Use a Hartmann mask (very easy to make) - or better a Bahtinov mask (was a pain for me - but made one in the end) to get a better focus. An electric focuser also makes the task easier. I have a Skywatcher electric focuser which cost around £50 which has made my life easier.

As has been pointed out by Carl (in another thread), one is limited in the total integration time for capturing Jupiter before rotation of planet (rotates in slightly less than 10 hrs) has a detrimental effect.
I calculated (subsequent to Carl's comment) that with my LPI (Webcam) and 3x Barlow on a 1200mm scope a 60s integration time leads to trail of half a pixel with the Earth/Jupiter configuration as it is at the moment.

Also you may be suprised at the detail that you do have. I reprocessed (reduced integration time, resampled, and applied diferent wavelet processing to the three colour planes) and improved my image significantly. However, in my case I started off with bad focus (too cloudy to find a star for my Bahtinov mask - so was best visual effort).

Mark