Alpine Valley-Plato

[Nick Smith]

Hi Guys

A quick process of some images from 27th April, I have quite a few more videos to go through.  Seeing was quite good for the altitude; C14; ASI147MM, red filter.

[Stargazer33]

Very nice! Lovely crisp detail.

[Alan]

Very nice Nick, clean and sharp.  I keep changing between red and IR filters with the idea of doing a proper comparison but haven't reached any conclusions due to seeing changes etc.  I note that you use red and not IR.  Is this because you feel the gain in resolution using red outways any lower dispersion advantages of IR?

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Awesome. A wealth of craterlets in Plato. Beautiful!

[Nick Smith]

Thanks for the comments everyone, much appreciated.

Very nice Nick, clean and sharp.  I keep changing between red and IR filters with the idea of doing a proper comparison but haven't reached any conclusions due to seeing changes etc.  I note that you use red and not IR.  Is this because you feel the gain in resolution using red outways any lower dispersion advantages of IR?

Hi Alan.

In terms of resolution, I do not think it makes a whole lot of difference in the real world whether you are imaging at 620, 650 or 740 nm.  What does make a difference though is the amount of available light.  IR filters do calm things down, but there is a massive trade off with exposure time/frame rate.  For instance, the Astronomik 807nm  filter is virtually unusable, even with a C14.  In practical terms I have (almost) always found a red-orange filter is the best compromise, even when the seeing is good

[Pete Presland]

Lovely sharp image with some nice craterlets showing inside Plato. i do like the Pro Planet 742 filter for imaging especially when the seeing is poor.

[Astromaster130]

Great pictures with awesome detail

[Nick Smith]

Thanks again for taking the time to comment guys.

[CATLUC]

Hello 

Very nice image.

A mosaic with Barlow would allow use the full potential of the C14.

Clear sky.

Luc

[Alan]

Thanks for the comments everyone, much appreciated.

Hi Alan.

In terms of resolution, I do not think it makes a whole lot of difference in the real world whether you are imaging at 620, 650 or 740 nm.  What does make a difference though is the amount of available light.  IR filters do calm things down, but there is a massive trade off with exposure time/frame rate.  For instance, the Astronomik 807nm  filter is virtually unusable, even with a C14.  In practical terms I have (almost) always found a red-orange filter is the best compromise, even when the seeing is good

Hi Nick thanks for the response. I must admit I hadn't considered the light transmission effect on exposure times but will do so from now on.

[Nick Smith]

Hello 

Very nice image.

A mosaic with Barlow would allow use the full potential of the C14.

Clear sky.

Luc

Thanks Luc, your images are amazing, truly a benchmark for us.

I should have pointed out that this was with a 1.5x Barlow; so focal length about 5.8 metres.  I tried 1.8x and 2.0x, but the seeing was not quite up to it.

[Nick Smith]

ps.  note to everyone.  This image could have been really good, but when I finished I noticed a bit of "sag" in my imaging train.  If everything was rock solid, I would have obtained a much better image.  As it is, I had to crop out about half of each frame to just leave the "sharp" parts.

[northcanadian]

That's awesome!!!

[Nick Smith]

• Well thanks northcanadian!  I am glad you liked it

[Grotemobile]

That  C14 & ASI147MM really produce

the goods. Brilliant.

Steve.

[Nick Smith]

Thanks very much Steve

I am still a bit undecided about the ASI174MM. The Lumenera Infinity 2-1M microscope camera I have been using for years is an incredible low-noise camera. It does not have the high frame rate of the ASI, and has a smaller chip, but if the seeing is good, and you have the time, I think the Lumenera is better.

Cheers

Nick

[Astroblagger]

beautifully crisp image, just great.

[Johan L]

Fantastic image!

[Charon]

What an amazing image

[VikkiFord]

Holy cow! will you look at the detail in that photo! Truly astounding! Would a red filter help my moon pictures? I find I lack contrast.

[Nick Smith]

Hi Vikki

Yes, it would.  Especially if you are imaging the Moon in twilight/daylight, as we are at the moment.  Also, working at longer wavelengths reduces the effect of atmospheric turbulence.  The only downside is that your exposure times will be longer....

[si@nite]

Truly stunning quality shot Nick, your usual high standards!

[Nick Smith]

Thanks for commenting Si and others

Cheers

Nick

[astroavani]

I do not dispense the red filter 610 long pass or IR Pass 685 in my moon, I think provides a very valuable gain for any lunar imager. As has been placed before the IR 742 have not been able to use for my capture site has a lot of moisture in the air and I think it is known that the dispersed water vapor in the air locks largely waves in the infrared which requires us to raise the gain and exposure thereby increasing the noise.

A great photo, congratulations!

See I posted a phto almost exactly the same place here in SGL:http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/245862-again-plato-and-vallis-alpes/