geoflewis

Thanks Peter, I had low expectations for planetary this year, so I’m pleased to get something on the bag. Geof

Thanks Steve,

Good luck with the prodding and poking 😀. I'm not sure if I'll continue with planetary imaging much longer this year. I stuck with it last year hoping that Mars would come good, but there some summer DSOs that I'd like to capture that I haven't looked at for a few years due to me mainly focusing on planetary imaging from late April through early September. I'll let this Moon cycle clear out of the way, then probably switch cameras as we move back towards fully dark skies again.

Geof

Hi all,

I made several attempts to capture Jupiter last week after a fairly successful run on 28 June, but mostly the results were terrible, despite views at the eyepiece being passably good and for brief moments very good. The best session turned out to be on 3 July, when I also captured my first images this year of Saturn.

The below Jupiter images are a stack of 6 x R-G-B runs and for comparison, a stack of 3 x IR (742nm) runs. The data in each of the separate videos had to be handled quite delicately and I maybe pushed the IR data a bit more than the RGB, but at 15 degrees and in poor to fair seeing it is what it is. The images are displayed south up.

By the time I'd completed the Jupiter runs, Saturn was gaining altitide so I had my first run at it this year. Cassini was clearly visible in the eyepiece and well resolved on screen in the red channel, less so in green and barely at all in blue. I attempted to sharpen the final image by layering a stack of the R+G data as a luminance using 60% opacity.

What surpised me was how much the ring system has closed since last year. For comparison I have attached below my best Saturn image from 2018, captured at a similar altitude, but in better seeing, which clearly shows the ring system extending above and below Saturn's globe.

Both Saturn images are displayed north up.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers, Geof

Until this year I've never viewed Jupiter with any filters, however, after reading some reports here on SGL that even a Moon filter helps, I tried a couple of the old (and cheap) visual filters that I have, which are a 25% ND 'Moon' filter and a general LP filter. They both improved the views, mainly because the darkened the sky and removed the throbing haze around the planet and to a less extent it's moons, making it easier to dial in tight focus. The LP filter seemed to work best, though I wouldn't say that it brought out any features on Jupiter any better than the naked eye views. With Jupiter so low I do use my ADC which removes most of the blue/red dispersion fringes, which is pretty much essential with the C14.  I've had a few pretty decent sessions on Jupiter at the eyepiece using the LP filter over the past couple of weeks, so will continue to use that for visual observations. I tried the same with saturn, but the improvement was less apparent.

Cheers, Geof

36 minutes ago, WicklowSkies76 said:

Thank you both - very reassuring and great info also. Huge thanks. I got the following links which will help me keep an eye on the altitudes for the moment.

https://in-the-sky.org//article.php?term=Saturn&skin=1

https://in-the-sky.org//article.php?term=Jupiter&skin=1

Well they are 2 excellent resources that I've not seen previously, so thanks for those .

Geof

Hi @WicklowSkies76 the planets are definitely not well placed this year, but it is still possible to get reasonable images in good seeing and your C11 is an excellent scope for that. Next year Mars will be pretty well placed at about 40 degrees altitude and almost as big (c 24") as it was last year, so that will definitely be a very worthwhile target. Jupiter and Saturn will also be starting to gain altitude albeit still at around 15 deg, with Saturn the slightly higher up of the two, but by 2021 Jupiter will be at 25 degrees and climbing rapidly the following few years.

As Geoff @Cosmic Geoff says, it is worth investing in an ADC and planetary imaging is perfectly OK using an altaz mount as you will be taking video of only 1-2 minutes duration, so not much sky rotation during that timeframe.

Good luck, I look forward to seeing you post some images. Practice now and you'll be ready for Mars next year.

Geof

2 minutes ago, John said:

Last nights seeing conditions showed me the best views of Jupiter I've had this opposition by far - quite like "the old days" in fact

During the better moments the structure of the 2 main equatorial belts was intricate, especially in the SEB which seems to be split into two parts for much of its diameter. 2 clear festoons were seen and one of those was an extensive loop down into the eq zone.

At points I was getting 6-7 cloud bands.

Not trying to rub salt into the wounds of those who were clouded out though or those for whom the seeing was not cooperating (honestly )

I'm fired up over planetary observing more after last night though !

Great stuff John. I never got out as the forecast was poor here, which was confirmed everytime I looked out, so I watched the football instead. I later discovered that the sky cleared sometime between 10:30 and midnight, but it was too late by the time I realised well after midnight. There's no excuse, I could have opened the obs to let everyting cool down just in case and closed it again if no go, but I didn't bother. With the jetstream out of the way I was expecting good seeing, if clear skies, which you and others have confirmed - hard lesson learned I guess....!! 😞 Geof

7 hours ago, nikkita said:

Yes it's an 800 focal length reflector.  And sadly after today's spending the 20mm will have to keep me going for a while anyway. Have a rather limited budget when it comes to hobbies.

 

hi Nikki,

My 1st telescope was a similar size altaz mounted reflector that cost about twice what you paid for yours (15 guineas), but that was 50 years ago and fortunately they didn't require it to be paid with actual guineas....!! I had many very enjoyable nights with that scope, the 2 eyepieces and x2 Barlow that came with it, over several years as I couldn't afford to get anything better. I saw many lovely targets with it and it taught me the night sky. A wise astronomy friend told me that those that have to wait to invest in new equipment get much more enjoyment from each addition than those with lots of spare cash that can buy anything anytime. I think that's true for life in general BTW...!! Enjoy this fabulous hobby and the journey that it takes you on.

Regards, Geof

9 minutes ago, nikkita said:

Thank you, I wouldn't have known which moon was which, and to be perfectly honest I wasn't really expecting to see much at all but knew it was Jupiter. 

Have already hit ebay earlier for a used 20mm plossl and a 2x "deluxe" barlow. Would something about 12.5mm be a good choice for the next one I get? 

I think I'm hooked already

 

I'm not familiar with that scope, but I'm guessing that the 800 is its focal length and the 80 is diameter of the objective (or mirror) so a 20mm eyepice will give you x40 magnification (800 divided by 20). The x2 barlow will take that up to x80 magnification. A 12.5mm eyepice would give you x64, so with the barlow that's x128. I suggest that you see how you get on with the 20mm eyepiece with and without the barlow before buying more eyepieces.

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

It was looking so good that I got the dob out. Not fully cooled but with a 7mm Ortho I have the shadow, festoons and the GRS coming round the corner too. Awesome!

Hi Neil when did it clear out for you? I kept checking the sky here earlier and was clouded out through 10:30, so I gave up. Just saw your post, so looked outside and it's clear - damn, looks like I missed out on a good session 😭. Geof

What did you see and in which direction (NSEW) and how high up were you looking?

17 minutes ago, nikkita said:

Hi everyone, 

Total newbie here. Only picked up first scope yesterday (pretty basic Jessops ta800x80 for a whole £8). Watching Jutiper is a definite wow. 

Eyepieces I have look about as cheap as you can get but 20mm with 3x barlow is making out one band and 3 moons. Maybe 4 if one's right next to planet right now. 

Anyway, was excited and just wanted to join in really.

Nikki 😊

Hi Nikki and welcome to SGL,

Well done viewing Jupiter with your new scope and yes, you will have seen Europa close to Jupiter, as it transitted the planet earlier this evening - not that I could see it from my cloudy location. Europa's shadow will have been following across Jupiter's disc and the GRS (Great Red Spot) is currently transitting too, so it's a good night for observing the 'King of Planets'.

Best regards, Geof

Thanks again Peter,

I need to pay more attention to what I read and yes, that thumbnail on the BAA challenge page is my image from a couple days prior to Jupiter's 2018 opposition. I saw your's posted and have just uploaded mine too with my estimated measurement of 17,449km (same as yours 👌), even though it was when the GRS was far from the CM.

Cheers, Geof

Hi and welcome to SGL Mark. There are several good societies in Surrey. I used to live there and was a member at Farnham Astro before moving to Norfolk. Whereabouts in the county are you?

Geof

Just now, Gina said:

Tried a slightly moist tissue and the patches can be removed.  PHEW!!

I've been following this thread with interest and wishes for a positive outcome Gina. It sounds like you are making good progress, so I hope that continues 🤞. Geof

1 hour ago, astroman001 said:

Hi Geoff,

There were no instructions on the BAA website. Yes it is easier to do when the GRS is near the CM.

You need to use the correct file naming format from Firecapture or similar YYYY-MM-DD-TTTT for winJUPOS. Check Jupiter is the selected planet under program / celestial body 

Basically you have to load your image into the recording/image measurement tab. Align the outline with the planet in the adj tab. Use automatic detection under the outline frame tab. Then  go to the pos tab and click the cursor on either end of the GRS. The longitude will be displayed at top left.

Here is a link to some winJUPOS tutorials

http://www.grischa-hahn.homepage.t-online.de/astro/winjupos/tutorials.htm

Peter

Thanks Peter,

I took a look at the tutorials, especially on measuring the GRS, but couldn't work out how to instal and use the latest CMT and Measurement files. Ignoring those I used the Pos tab under Image Measurement to measured the GRS using the earliest of my images from 28 June, i.e. when the GRS was closest to the CM and it also measured at 14.7 deg (slightly different L2s 306.5 and 321.2), but from where did you get, or how did you derive the length per degree at 1187km? The equatorial circumference of Jupiter is 439,263.8 km (NASA), hence ~1220km/deg, so your figure looks to be right given the GRS latitude, but wondering how/where you got it.

14 hours ago, astroman001 said:

CM2 longitude was 306.8 to 321.5 degrees = 14.7 degrees long x 1187 km/deg = 17449 km

Again many thanks,

Geof

A frustrating session for me, ended by clouds moving in from the north about 30 minutes ago. Views in the eyepiece early on were promising, but the camera never really came good. I've captured several AVIs, but a quick processing of a random sample doesn't show much promise, so I fear they'll end in the trash can, the same as those from last night. I'm not sure if it was me getting out late and imaging without cooling down the OTA, or just poor seeing as I noted that Norfolk and anything further north remained under the receeding jetstream tonight...

Perhaps all of the above...

Just poured myself a good Irish Whisky that my daughter got me for Fathers' Day, so all's well with the world 🥃👌

Fingers crossed for tomorrow night by when the jetstream should be a good deal further north.

1 minute ago, John said:

The seeing conditions seem good this evening. I only have my little 70mm refractor out but the detail on Jupiter is surprisingly well defined. 2 main belts and 2 futher belts N and S of those, polar darkening and hints of a couple of festoons coming off the N Eq Belt. Nice

 

It's just cleared here, sort of caught me out, so I'm only just opening the obs no time to cool down the OTA. We'll soon see if I've missed a trick.... A quick look through my 40mm eyepiece is promising though, but imaging is another ball game completely...

Well done Peter, that’s a very nice image - shows what’s still possible from the UK.

I saw the BAA request for GRS measurements, but don’t know how to use WinJupos to do it. Were there instructions on the BAA site, if so I missed them? Presumably it’s easier to measure when the GRS is face on transiting the meridian as in your excellent image.

Cheers, Geof

2 minutes ago, astroman001 said:

Hi Geoff

A great image considering altitude this year, well done.

Peter

Thanks Peter, I was very lucky with the seeing for this my first outing on Jupiter this year. I tried again last night, but no joy imaging, though the seeing improved later on for some visual observing. Geof

Great post @MKHACHFE I also had an excellentvisual session last night, after a less than promising start trying to image Jupiter. I ticked off some of the same target as you for the first time this year, which I reported on another (Jupiter related) thread (sorry I don't know how to link to just my report, so here's the entire thread.....)

Cheers, Geof

@Pete Presland @si@nite @Stu - thanks all for the feedback, thanks for looking and I'm pleased that you like the images.

Simon, having the observatory has certainly allowed me to keep my mojo up, as without it I wouldn't be bothered to get out anything like as much as I do now. There have been many occaisions over the past 3 years when I've started the evening thinking that I can't be bothered, then later I've looked out and thought well maybe, then had a very good session - last night was probably a case in point. Set up is a matter of minutes for visual and not much longer when imaging. Better still is the shut down time, I can be at the eyepiece one minute and in bed less than 10 minutes later with everything shut down - what's not to like 😄.

Geof

Hi Matt, thanks for the additional info about your schools observatory, it really sounds like a very fine facility and yout school should be proud to have and make more use of it. I do, however, understand their H&S concerns and they probably shouldn't let you use it on your own as it's easy to have accidents fumbling about in the dark - I even cracked my scalp open on the counterweights in my obs during daylight requiring it to be glued back together....!! That said, I do hope that they will find some way to make moreuse of the facility. My C14 is an old pre Edge version, so I'm sure that yours will give a good performance, though very likely you will need to learn how to collimate it. I use the mono version (ASI120MM-s) of your 120MC, so you should be able to capture some reasonable images with that. Your own rig looks pretty good too, I wish I had anything like that when I was your age...!!

Best of luck with the school.

Geof

Well the seeing certainly got better tonight, though not so good earlier in the evening when I started a sequence of capture runs on Jupiter with the GRS in transit. After a sequence of 3 R-G-B runs, none of which looked particularly good, I decided to swap the camera for the 40mm eyepiece, leaving the x2 PM and ADC in train for approx x200 mag. It  turned out to be a very good decision, as following comments made by others the last few days I played around with a couple of filters, a 25% ND and a general LP filter, the later of which really sharpened up the view. The beautifully red GRS was still visible and clearly seen above a distinctly sandy coloured EZ, with subtle lighter bands stretching along the EZ. A broad light band stretched away from the GRS along the SEB. The darker (brownish) jagged NEB was well displayed with a couple of lighter festoons reaching from it into the EZ. Europa was inbound towards Jupiter as the GRS was exiting the disc on the same side, the other 3 moons were also clearly seen on the opposite side, but all 4 moons showed some scintillation, hinting that seeing was still not stable.

After enjoying some time with Jupiter I headed over to Saturn, for my first views this year. Cassini was just visible and it probably required higher magnification, but with a crystal clear sky overhead I opted for a hop through some old favourite DSO.

I removed the x2 PM and ADC, using just my ES68/40 eyepiece and a diagonal. I started with the low down targets, M16, M17, M8, M20, but then headed higher for views of M13, M92, M27, M57. Adding an OIII filter into the mix I finished the session with my first views this year of the Veil Nebula complex (very pleasing) and the somewhat more difficult Crescent Nebula (NGC6888).

It wasn’t the session I planned when I headed out to the observatory, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow....

Sorry for getting off topic after my Jupiter report....

Cheers, Geof

Here's the result of me processing the rest of the data from 28 June 2019, as the GRS rotated out of view with Jupiter displayed south up. I've added capture details, stack average timestamps and CMI.

Cheers, Geof