Space Cowboy

As Craig says a 3x Barlow would be better, then you can go beyond f15 with an extension tube which is what my setup is for my f5 Dob and 224mc cam. At f10 you are only in the foothills of Everest but over f15 you're reaching the summit and in very good weather you can go for glory at f20.

Welcome to mainstream planetary imaging 🙂 You can use an extension tube to give more fl the body of another Barlow works well or simply pull the cam nose further out from your Barlow or a combination of both.

The cap is something else! As Kon said it's so 3D. I've never seen Mars look like this before.

They look a damn sight better than the ball of mush I got last week lol

That's pretty decent considering its f21 😎

Well done Vani, Geof, Kon & Neil! Tremendous collection of images. Remarkable what Kon is producing with a manual Dob!

Super captures! Wall to wall rain here. Maybe if I got a manual Dob I'd have more luck with the weather 😉

Certainly better than what I got the other night 🙂

Scientists certainly wouldn't be interested in what I produced over the weekend as conditions have been dire here. You're producing some great detail under the circumstances Geof. Ideally we'd all want to produce sharp smooth shots but UK seeing doesn't always allow it so we have to compromise one for the other at times.

Super images Geof! Must confess i prefer the smoother version which gives it an almost dare I say it Damian Peach feel 🙂 32" monitors are not very forgiving when it comes to noise 🙂

Lots of detail on that one for sure!

Nice level of detail Lee.

Nice detail showing. Looks like Mars is thinning on top?

Very interesting read.

The conditions in Australia might be more suited to slower shutter speeds 🙂 Certainly worth noting how noise can effect stacking alignment though. I do remember getting better results with my old DFK at 30fps compared to 60 because of the noise issue. I might try slowing down shutter speed and using less gain but when the sky is like a foaming ocean its a pig,

That's a beauty!

Seeing conditions are the key. Considering the conditions were less than great the oversampling has done ok.

The processing depends on the individual's preferences regarding the finished result. Neil doesn't like to over-sharpen his images, so the comparison is based on his preference, i.e., a natural appearance. I'm sure I could add extra sharpening to the oversampled image to reverse the difference again. What we produce in theory and practise are not always the same. Some conditions and setups will favour one sampling over the other. Experimentation is how we find our own sweet spots 🙂

To my eyes the oversampled shot looks far sharper on the f14 size comparison.

Looking at these again on my 32" monitor and the oversampled image is much sharper, showing finer detail. If you shrink it down 50% it kills the f14 shot for sharpness. I've always thought you can get a more accurate focus with a larger image, even if it looks a bit noisy. I remember years ago using my 5x powermate with the qhy5L-ll on Mars at nearly f25 and although the images initially looked noisier the detail was far sharper. The polar cap detail on these are awesome Neil, with such a 3D effect.

Those look good on my phone. Look forward to seeing them on my pc later!

Yes breezy conditions can offer decent seeing. I assume you're using a motorized focuser?

Very nice detail on those.

Great result for the conditions!

Windy conditions with manual tracking and he still gets detail on the polar cap! Great work again Kon!