Kon

Thanks. It is hard work but fun.

Earlier this year I said I will never image Neptune again due to the difficulty of the long exposures but .....I had another go tonight and I am glad I did as my previous one was noisy. 8" Dob, manual tracking, asi462mc, 2.5x TV powermate. Yes it's just a blue dot but considering it's distance from us it is a nice capture!

Good effort. Saturn is hard with UK skies. I think I only had one night where the Cassini division was visible enough to focus well. I always focus on my planets no stars or moon as it will depend on the seeing conditions. Most of my Saturn captures are awful but I enjoy being out at night and take the serenity and calmness, despite the weather frustrations. Keep going, ask questions and experiment. I always end up with several videos trying new things.

Nice image.

Some very nice details on the second image.

That's a nice Saturn! Cassini division nicely all around.

Very nice captures with nice details.

Yes I use the drift method and when it reaches the other side I move it to the other side and repeat. I use a RACI as it's easier on my back plus keeping an eye on the laptop. I can easily shoot a 3min video for Jupiter and 5 or so for Saturn. I am shooting at 200fps so I easily have 50000 frames with 45000 having it. I think my ISS captures have helped with Jupiter that moves at a snail pace. I never shoot more than 3 minutes and from what I have read the distortion of pixels is insignificant in that small time frame. Saying that I have tried it with the image after registax but I didn't like the result; I want to try derotate the video and then stack etc.

I know you are a perfectionist but in my eyes it's stunning with great details. How many minutes of rotation does the animation capture?

Yes, I am proactively looking for a platform but rather limited choices in UK (that are not costing an arm and leg). I hope you can get hold of the mount and Dob you want for next year, you seem very excited about it from what I have read on other posts. I am sure you will have incredible images. It seems that regardless of the scope you use, small or large, you manage to pull amazing details.

I always seem to go either less or too much with the saturation as it can quickly look 'posterised'. I need to find the balance. Something like that or more?

Thanks for the link. It will make a nice read with the rain we are having tonight and tomorrow.

Some really nice details. Nice animation. Looking at it it seems when the GRS was nearly at the centre, the image had the best details, have you tried that movie on its own without derotation and see what it gives you?

Great image with very nice details.

I feel you, it is nice to have the GRS but most of my captures have it at the edge or without it.

Thanks Neil. It is not just the comments to me but feedback that you give to others as well that I try to mix and match and like you said play with the data and available options we have. I think, and I am sure others will agree with me, that we all benefit from your expertise and experience. SGL is great in that respect. I will hold you on the millionaire ticket promise 😉. By the way, FLO told me that they are looking to possibly source the EQ platform from a German supplier so it may not be too long before I get one. Germany seems to have other platforms in stock but with the import duty its not worthwhile, unless I am there to pick one up.

es exactly, I could have pushed the wavelets a bit more but like you say, the edge gets awful. In this image I did not use the Gimp layers. I am ok with its workflow but by the time you blend the two layers it softens quite a lot. I wish we could draw a mask where we want a wavelet sharpening to happen. The softness on this image is from the clouds that I was shooting Mars through.

Thanks Geof. Quite pleased despite the conditions. I was not sure if I should have upped the saturation but in my eyes it did not look good anymore.

@Stuand @geoflewis thank you for your comments. I think I am getting the hand of Jupiter processing thanks to the several tips/comments from @neil phillips on my several posts, and I am also learning that less is better with planetary imaging.

I was quite kin to try image Mars despite the thin passing clouds. 7am imaging is not bad for the body 🤣. Still very windy with the Dob vibrating but there were moments of momentary calmness. 8" Dob, manual, asi462mc, 2.5x TV powermate. Resized 150%. Wavelets were just touched in Autostakert, and a mild sharpening in Astrosurface. Happy for feedback on the image etc as I would like to improve on my Mars the same way it has helped me with my Jupiter.

I agree, you get a lot more details during processing but despite my limited experience with imaging, I am finding that unless I can see some good details during capture the end result will not be as good.

I wish the clouds hadn't spoiled the fun. I was surprised on the details despite shooting through clouds.

It was good being out after a long week.

A quick fairly stable capture despite the gushing winds and incoming clouds tonight. GRS was on its way out. 8" Dob, manual, asi462, UV/IR cut filter, 2.5x TV powermate.

Fantastic set of images! It's getting bigger, isn't it?