My Jupiter attempts from last night.

[Astroblagger]

These are my attempts at imaging jupiter last night, im fairly happy with them as i havent done much in the way of planetary imaging, realistically can i achieve anything better with out a higher frame rate camera? my C9.25 was cooled down (3 hours), im sure my focus was good, and seeing wasnt too bad. Any advice much appreciated.

[ScubaMike]

Looks good to me.

Is that a transit shadow I can see?

[Clayton]

There are many things that can affect the final quality of an image,probably the most significant and the one we have no power over is seeing. If you practise collimation, focus, etc you will get (surprisingly) better at it and when great seeing comes along you will be able to make the best of it.

BTW those images are pretty good for someone with little experience.

[Astroblagger]

Thanks for the comments, i thought i might raise the question as i just dont see too many images taken with the SPC900NC that show up the real detailed cloud formations on the planet surface like alot using the DMK type cameras?

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice shots, I would say. I image using an SPC900, and can on occasion get some cloud detail. It does depend heavily on exact focus, number of images stacked, seeing, and post-processing. If the S/N is good, you can be more aggressive in wavelet processing. I tend to just move various sliders until I get the result I like. I occasionally save settings, but I have found that I often have to produce individual settings per stack.

[Clayton]

Thanks for the comments, i thought i might raise the question as i just dont see too many images taken with the SPC900NC that show up the real detailed cloud formations on the planet surface like alot using the DMK type cameras?

No doubt the specialized camera;s such as TIS, Flea3, Basler etc are a better choice (Budget permitting )

But there are many examples of fine images with very ordinary camera's. Mine are not the best of such images but an example of what is possible with an 8" Newt and an old Toucam 840 Pro (predecessor to the SPC900) can be seen here http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-planetary/117965-25th-oct-jupiter.html

It took me over a year of practise to get to this level and conditions often limit me to lesser results. The value of always trying to push your gear to the limit cannot be overstated IMO

Here's one from about 14 months earlier

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-planetary/86218-jupiter-27-8-2009-a.html

(I know I have even poorer stuff from earlier but my filing system is less thsn perfect :) )

BTW I'm not trying to say that you don't put in enough effort, rather simply trying to encourage you to persist

Upgrade if you wish, I think it always helps to have the best equipment, but that alone will not guarantee great results

End of Rant