Kon

47 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

These are superb images Kostas, amongst the best I’ve seen posted by anyone this apparition. Also thanks for sharing the WIP versions with me.

Thanks Geof, you've been very kind. I really value the feedback as it's the only way to improve. Looking back to my earlier versions they are a bit of an eye shore 😂.

I think I will pass tonight as I want to get up for the lunar eclipse.

21 minutes ago, siatnite said:

very nice indeed kostas well done.

Thanks Simon. I am glad to have finally bagged it under good conditions.

36 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

Lovely stuff! 

Thanks Craig. It's nice when the weather cooperates.

The seeing was unexpectedly excellent last night despite the high clouds; no boiling nothing, spoiled by the clouds. It is the first time I could see Cassini division during the live view. I finally feel the 12" is delivering.

The OSC is 10x3min and the IR 5x3min derotated. I really like how the banding has come out without much trouble. Thanks to @geoflewis Geof for his offline guidance on my saturation and convincing me that a cooler disc is better to reveal the banding. Cassini division and C-ring (Crepe) are both resolved.

Very nice images Martyn. I really like the colour balance and saturation.

Very nice set of images Simon. Cassini and banding are really nice. Have you derotated them or single capture?

The seeing was excellent last night despite the high clouds.

1 hour ago, bosun21 said:

Looks like my imaging session for tonight is off the cards due to the clouds moving in. The MET app map shows this as does my eyes. I will wait till 11pm and see if it clears.

It isn't looking good, is it?  I will try iss in 1.5hrs and I may get up for Jupiter.

1 hour ago, CraigT82 said:

Thanks Kon, yes it’s a bit better than my last effort but again seeing was ok but not great. Plus I managed to damage my scope the other day and I think it’s not performing quite as it should now. Hopefully it’s a relatively easy fix.

 

I hope nothing serious and you will be back imaging soon.

Very nice Craig. You have got some really nice banding too.

I don't image with a mobile, but same rules apply,  decrease the exposure even more if you want to pull any features. You want to have it barely visible on the phone and at post processing you can make it brighter. Why not put it through pipp and then Astrosurface rather than doing everything on a mobile? These are all free software.

You may want to look on getting a second hand planetary camera at some point, it doesn't need to be latest model, as it will give you much better pics.

34 minutes ago, morimarty said:

They are very nice Kostas great detail and lovely colour balance.

Thanks Martyn. I was complaining at an earlier post that I was struggling with colour balance but having the good seeing seems to have brought it a lot easier without having to mess with it any further.

52 minutes ago, siatnite said:

Lovely set of images Kostas well done indeed.

Thanks Simon. It's nice to have some good weather after a long time.

27 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

You are definitely hitting the mark now Kostas. Of the one night the seeing was good I decided to stay indoors due to being tired. Oh well I've also got my fingers crossed for Monday/Tuesday. I prefer the coloured images. Some nice detail starting to show.

Thanks Ian. After the initial problems when I got it with losing tracking and collimation, I am glad it's all good now. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

31 minutes ago, orion25 said:

Great set, Kostas. That 12" is a whole lotta scope and you're pulling out some nice images with it. Just wait until those nights of exceptional seeing! 🤩

Thanks Reggie. I hope to have another try tomorrow. I am glad I got it.

8 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

What a nice little bonus Kostas. Is that the polar cap trying to make an appearance?

Nice Mars. I was hoping to image the storm but we didn't have clear skies. To avoid pixelation, try resize in Astrosurface as it handles better.

I think the polar hood is just about showing.

Mars is still small but I could not resist imaging it while we had the good seeing yesterday. Some details are coming through despite the small size. This is a single 5min capture as seeing deteriorated as the sun was coming up. Resized 175%.

1 hour ago, geoflewis said:

That's a lovely set of images Kostas, you must be really please to see the bigger scope showing it's paces. One thing you'll find with a larger scope is that it is much more sensitive to poor seeing than a smaller scope, so it can be very frustrating, but then when you get those rare periods of excellent seeing, boy what a difference.

Thanks Geof. It's the first time I feel it's all coming together. I am loving the new setup and the tracking is making life a lot easier. I am looking forward for the exceptional seeing. I agree that the bigger mirror amplifies bad seeing and it's apparent from my Saturn attempts. 

Monday night/Tuesday morning should be good.

Very nice images. I haven't managed to get good banding this season yet, so that's grea. The shadow in the IR is a nice bonus!

40 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

I finally feel that I'm getting back into the saddle.

Get ready for Monday night, as seeing should be even better from early evening.

I finally had a decent imaging session on Saturday morning. The lack of jetstream helped this time to pull some nice images.  I 'struggled' to process them as I was pushing too much. I think i found a middle compromise. Ganymede is showing some nice details too; in the second image Ganymede is over the Jupiter disc (clearer in the methane). 6x2min (12% of 13000 frames) derotated. IR is showing some finer details too. By the time I did the methane capture the seeing had dropped. It is the first time I feel the 12" is delivering to its capabilities.

Very nice Geof. Your perseverance has paid off! It seems the better seeing was for the OSC capture.

Good job with Astrosurface. You can see that you are pulling the Cassini division much easier with it. I like the new version better and less noisy.

9 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

Well done Kostas.  Whilst the images are soft there’s still a fair amount of detail showing in both RGB and IR, so I think you extracted the best that was available. I must say I admire your dedication, there’s no way I’d be staying up that late, or getting at that time to image Jupiter - I’ll wait for when it’s available closer to midnight.

Thanks Geof. I agree there is some details and I could have pushed it a bit more but it was getting very noisy. 

I might do an early Saturn tonight and then Jupiter. Seeing is looking promising.... tempted?? 😁 😉 

38 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

Sigh!! I was also out last night and captured Saturn and Jupiter. Jupiter was captured low in the sky as I was numb with the cold and wasn't going to wait for it to get higher. I was very disappointed with viewing several targets through the eyepiece at the start of the session while waiting for Saturn to rise. I will probably process them in the morning as I've been far too busy all day today. Valiant effort Kostas and respectable images despite the Jetstream and conditions.

Thanks Ian. On the eyepiece Jupiter looked good but during imaging it really showed how bad it was. I have good hope for tonight. Looking forward to your pics.

24 minutes ago, morimarty said:

That's a decent image Kostas depite the lousy conditions. My captures of jupiter went in the bin as I just couldn't get any data out of them.

Thanks Martyn. I felt the same with my captures too. It's looking promising tonight. I might not bother with Saturn and try get out for Jupiter and Mars.

This is looking very good Simon. Is that a single capture or derotated a few images?