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Mercury 22.07.14


NorrinRadd

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Mercury taken today.

Would take a small book on the hassle it was trying to capture this but you have to try these things !

Locating it in the day light and blazing sun boiling away the air in my SCT was not amusing.

Have processed very gently to retain the subtle original data, hope its worth you looking as there is not a lot there !

C11 2.7x W47 and IR 742 used

Simon

post-19615-0-80072300-1406039581_thumb.j

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You have done very well indeed with this Mercury Simon! :)

I'd suggest that there is enough to state that some delicate albedo variations do match with the simulation...to get even a skerrick of albedo on Mercury is not easy at all, so congratulations!

ps: John Boudreau is probably the supreme AA imager of Mercury - check this image out if you haven't already! :)http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Board/Imaging/Number/6634254/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/o/fpart/all

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You have done very well indeed with this Mercury Simon! :)

I'd suggest that there is enough to state that some delicate albedo variations do match with the simulation...to get even a skerrick of albedo on Mercury is not easy at all, so congratulations!

ps: John Boudreau is probably the supreme AA imager of Mercury - check this image out if you haven't already! :)http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Board/Imaging/Number/6634254/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/o/fpart/all

those images are ircredible, and to think he uses the same camera as a lot of us.

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Thank for the comments guys :smiley:

You have done very well indeed with this Mercury Simon! :)

I'd suggest that there is enough to state that some delicate albedo variations do match with the simulation...to get even a skerrick of albedo on Mercury is not easy at all, so congratulations!

ps: John Boudreau is probably the supreme AA imager of Mercury - check this image out if you haven't already! :)http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Board/Imaging/Number/6634254/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/o/fpart/all

Those are incredible pics of Mercury , hes truly a master !

I find that apart from the horrible problem of finding it on the sensor and focusing etc by this time the SCT tube is boiling hot from being in the sun so I'm guessing this is giving me a lot of rubbish air in the tube. If I could get round this problem I might get a much more stable image to video. Obs is a slide off roof so no dome protection .....I could try and hang a heat barrier over it.(flappy flap me thinks )....or if I wait for the weather to cool its not so high in the sky so I guess a compromise in Sep/Oct ,might be worth a shot ?  

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John has a new scope now but all of his previous images of Mercury seen here http://www.spacescenes.com/ were taken with his C11 which was "opened up" to negate some of the issues you encounter.

Sadly my Mercury images haven't come within a bulls roar of John's but if you can track the planet once it lifts clear of the horizon's murk with a high wall or something shading the scope then it will be possible to get quite reasonable elevation to image with the scope still quite cool...obviously "Go To" etc would make this a much easier exercise! :)

2 mornings ago we were going to do such using the caravan as the moveable barrier/wall...we go out into the countryside to image & don't employ "Go To" so we needed a clear horizon to target Mercury, intending to then move the van forward before the Sun came up to block its heat/light...unfortunately the night was so plurry cold I got up around 6:15am, went outside & had a look & thought "stuff this it's too flamin' cold" & went back to bed telling Pat (my wife) that John is made of sterner stuff than me..! :)

ps: the 842nM filter is considered the best for Mercury but you have done very well regardless! :)

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John has a new scope now but all of his previous images of Mercury seen here http://www.spacescenes.com/ were taken with his C11 which was "opened up" to negate some of the issues you encounter.

Sadly my Mercury images haven't come within a bulls roar of John's but if you can track the planet once it lifts clear of the horizon's murk with a high wall or something shading the scope then it will be possible to get quite reasonable elevation to image with the scope still quite cool...obviously "Go To" etc would make this a much easier exercise! :)

2 mornings ago we were going to do such using the caravan as the moveable barrier/wall...we go out into the countryside to image & don't employ "Go To" so we needed a clear horizon to target Mercury, intending to then move the van forward before the Sun came up to block its heat/light...unfortunately the night was so plurry cold I got up around 6:15am, went outside & had a look & thought "stuff this it's too flamin' cold" & went back to bed telling Pat (my wife) that John is made of sterner stuff than me..! :)

ps: the 842nM filter is considered the best for Mercury but you have done very well regardless! :)

Thank you for the extra insight in to the trials of Mercury ! :laugh:

Your so right about the willpower aspect of astronomy, its not just enduring the constant and never ending learning process and fickle conditions etc but sometimes convincing yourself to get outside and start is a big mental barrier after a touch day (my two young children really don't help this !)

I think a 842nM is a good idea, thank you , I have a 640 nM ish,  which is par focal with my RGB but I m not bothered about this for the others as I wont be rotation time pressured for the captures etc I'll do some shopping about for one.

I really want to get the UV filter for Venus but I'm being put off by the £160 price tag. :eek:  If I knew for certain it would deliver more obvious cloud detail (accepting seeing conditions etc) I would buy one as I struggle to get much from the 742 NM and ive used a W47 too.  I was hoping the UV "Venus" filter at 320-380 nM ( I think) would deliver. I need to hire one on trial unless you know if someone has regular success with one ? :cool:      

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..forgot to mention the options for heat reduction. An open tube is a nice touch from John :laugh: ...not sure I'm going to do that though !   I think some kind of home made ,  heat deflection is in order.  I cant help/stop the direct route down the tube but I can put on an outer "skin"  ? The C11 HD is white which definitely makes a difference over my previous black C9.25 which was impossible in the heat.  

You've inspired me to have a new plan for Mercury - with

Higher infrared, I'm thinking air cooling (without blowing on the wires etc ! ) and outer heat skin, and finally still imaging in the daytime but later in the year where it will be a bit lower in the sky but not be so hot as better potential detail trade off ! :cool:

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That's a stunner Simon - an excellent result on this very difficult target, full honours!

I've seen some of the serious PI guys lagging their C11's and C14's with a thin quilted thermal blanket.   Not sure this will help with cool down times, but should help thermal stability.

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Neither Mercury nor Venus are my fortes Simon...Mars, Jupiter & Saturn are our specialities,  Pat & I made the cover of the current June BAA journal issue with Mars like we did the June before with Saturn  :grin:   - John really is the Mercury maestro (I call him "Mr Mercury") and without going on too much about John his C11 was a sight to behold: he'd literally cut open the OTA so that there was still enough left to give structural integrity but it had been very well sliced & diced - but elegantly I must add..! A pity, but I couldn't see it on his website when I last looked but he now has a 14.5" DK Cassegrain from Royce Optics...

It was on his advice I purchased the 842nM filter for Mercury...

I also have the Astronomics uVenus filter but again, Venus has not been kind to us...there are several good Venus imagers on SGL like Neil etc and although one can also find some great Venus images with SCT's it is those using Newtonians that seem to reap the best results: something to do with uV light & coated optics re the SCT's - or at least that's what I tell myself with our C14..! :rolleyes:

Cooling is of course a real issue with daytime imaging & one reason why utilising shade is beneficial but I'm sure you'll work out a good combination of ploys: personally I wouldn't attempt to image Mercury when it is so close to the Sun that there'd be the possibility of it (the Sun) shining into the tube which is why the shade aspect is important imho - but most definitely worth you keeping at it with this tiny & difficult but rewarding planet! :icon_salut:

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Neither Mercury nor Venus are my fortes Simon...Mars, Jupiter & Saturn are our specialities,  Pat & I made the cover of the current June BAA journal issue with Mars like we did the June before with Saturn  :grin:   - John really is the Mercury maestro (I call him "Mr Mercury") and without going on too much about John his C11 was a sight to behold: he'd literally cut open the OTA so that there was still enough left to give structural integrity but it had been very well sliced & diced - but elegantly I must add..! A pity, but I couldn't see it on his website when I last looked but he now has a 14.5" DK Cassegrain from Royce Optics...

It was on his advice I purchased the 842nM filter for Mercury...

I also have the Astronomics uVenus filter but again, Venus has not been kind to us...there are several good Venus imagers on SGL like Neil etc and although one can also find some great Venus images with SCT's it is those using Newtonians that seem to reap the best results: something to do with uV light & coated optics re the SCT's - or at least that's what I tell myself with our C14..! :rolleyes:

Cooling is of course a real issue with daytime imaging & one reason why utilising shade is beneficial but I'm sure you'll work out a good combination of ploys: personally I wouldn't attempt to image Mercury when it is so close to the Sun that there'd be the possibility of it (the Sun) shining into the tube which is why the shade aspect is important imho - but most definitely worth you keeping at it with this tiny & difficult but rewarding planet! :icon_salut:

Thank you for the valuable insight information Kokatha :grin:  

John sounds like a VERY dedicated man in his quest,,not sure I'm ready to butcher my still fresh from the box C11 HD up yet...but I can see why he did it !   ....loving his new scope :Envy:

I would love to see some of your images, do you have a link/web etc ? :smiley:

Lovely mercury norrin very sweet especially for a daytime showing, do you do other planets too? I am a bit of a planetary geek

Hi Algol,

I have done/do/will do more ! 

I have been using a DSLR up to June 14 so I have only just switched over to the joys of mono imaging having found that the DSLR has limits.

I did manage a run at Saturn through cloud the day the camera arrived but it has been poor ever since. 

So I'm really excited about Jupiter coming back and of curse Mars in 2016 :smiley:

That's a stunner Simon - an excellent result on this very difficult target, full honours!

I've seen some of the serious PI guys lagging their C11's and C14's with a thin quilted thermal blanket.   Not sure this will help with cool down times, but should help thermal stability.

Thanks Jake :grin:   and for the cooling/stability ideas.

It helps that the C11 HD is white but I'm thinking along your lines and maybe an outer tube with foil/layer for shade and not touching the tube...with a fat fan blowing the air about toward the tube but not wires. It definitely didn't help being July as I figure a later in the year, cooler clear sky later might assist and the elevation loss is worth it.  :icon_profileright:

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Wow Simon, that is the best image of Mercury I have seen. It is the last planet for me to image and I was thinking of having a go, but now I am certain I want to try.

Kokatha, I like the idea of moving a caravan around to block the sun, very low tech, but also very effective. Just make sure Mrs Kokatha is not asleep in it at the time.

Robin

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