chiltonstar

I think it is darker this year than last, and the "eye" more prominent maybe.

Chris

Stunning!

Chris

Jupiter with a tiddly 7" (180 Mak) just before the Io transit on the 13th Aug. (I was all set up for the actual transit but a Windows 10 update, an antivirus update and a routine scan all managed to crash the laptop so I watched it through the EP instead. AS1224 colour camera, ADC, 3000/15000 frames derotated.

Chris

On 16/08/2021 at 21:19, powerlord said:

All u need is a really long dew shield. Around 6000ft should do it?

Or a pier the same length.....

Chris

Nice images Neil, but of course with planets, aperture does count. Unfortunately, we can't beat the laws of physics. I always look in envy at C14 images compared with the 'umble offerings from my 7" of aperture...

Chris

In good seeing conditions  it is easy in my ED80 at x190.. With my 180 Mak, it needs good seeing and high mag - I assume that this is because with more aperture, the apparent width of the rings is much less ( we observe a convolution of the true width of the rings modified by the instrument function -  resolution in effect). I normally use x250 to x350 for the Mak.

Chris

Great here too  clear, excellent seeing and no mosquitos - what more could you ask for? I collected a few AVIs as well, be interesting to see how they turn out when processed.

Chris

And the weather looks clear at the moment!

Chris

Another Jupiter in poor seeing (6th August at 23:30 UT. Bloody Jetstream!

Best 3000 frames from 3x5000 frames stacked in AS3, PS, and derotated. 180 Mak with AS1224 colour camera, 1.4x Barlow, ADC.

Chris

I echo all of the above! Well done John and thank you. Another 50k?

Chris

Good luck with the ADC - they are well worth the cost IMO.

Chris

Stargate PA works fine for me.

Chris

A very natural colour balance.

Chris

Some nice options here - unfortunately, my main scope (180 Mak) doesn't have rings so I'm still scratching my head to find a good option with sleeves around the scope body. Any suggestions?

Chris

Nice images Neil - I particularly like the Saturn with the fairly accurate rendering of Encke. This very hot weather is good for planetary imaging, less so for jogging maybe!

Chris

Very nice detail!

Chris

Saturn at midnight last night with a 180 Mak, AS1224, ADC, image processed in Pipp, AS and PS. Best 3000 frames from 15000. Saturn was 12 degrees above the horizon.

Chris

I made a simulation this morning with Aberrator* and it was gratifyingly similar to the visual observation last night, except for the fact that the magnification of the image looks a bit too high:-

Chris

* 180 mm 30% obstructed aperture, f15

56 minutes ago, John said:

I've got the 12 inch dob out tonight but the seeing seems poor compared to last night. I doubt that I'll get anywhere with Dubhe tonight unless it really settles down a lot.

 

The seeing here tonight is excellent+, with a stable sharp view at x450 (6 mm Baader Ortho) with the 180 Mak. The secondary seems to be oval shaped tonight and attached to the diffraction ring, but there is at least dark space between the primary and secondary! Better view than I've had before, down to the seeing I suppose. I think I might just claim that as a split........ 

Chris

I've looked at it maybe half a dozen times with my 180 Mak. I see it as an unequal infinity sign, but with no dark space between the components.

Re the above comment about the true aperture of a 180 Mak, I think the clear aperture is nowadays close to 180 mm (they now have an oversized primary). There are very many threads on CN on the subject.

 I've put mine on an optical bench and get 179 mm.

Chris

On 09/07/2021 at 19:35, John said:

The best I've managed was 11 craterlets on a great night a couple of years back with my 12 inch dob. The Pentax XW 5mm is a super lunar eyepiece as I discovered that night. The illumination was very favourable showing the craterlets as tiny but distinct pits with illuminated rims and darkened floors.

 

Interesting how the number of craterlets increases with aperture! With my 4" frac, I see 4 clearly, with the two close craters seen as one. With my 180 Mak using a 15mm Vixen SLV (superb ep) I can see about 6 - 7 visually. If I connect a camera and display the output on a screen, I can add a few more. Imaging it with a fast frame rate (10 ms or so frames) and stacking adds more, for example earlier this image earlier this year. Craters below the resolution limit of the scope just appear as white marks.

Chris

You waited 4 years..........?

Not an easy one, but splits on a good summer night with my 180 Mak, although if the seeing isn't optimum, the secondary disappears into the primary.

Chris

Ditto! We seem to have had a lot of cloud in the last few months...

Chris

The craterlets are certainly a test of eye, scope and seeing! Nice report.

Chris

12 hours ago, Ags said:

Epsilon Lyrae is so tight, I think it is a real challenge. I think lots of aperture is needed and very short exposures.

I find it works ok with a planetary camera, eg with my 180 Mak and an ASI224 MC camera:-

Chris