1st time out in weeks: Mars 15th April

[HAL9000]

Couldn't resist the clear skies here last night, here are a few Mars edits - very pleased with the results having never imaged Mars before!

Equipment: SW 180pro Mak, 2x Barlow (would a 2.5x or 3x be worth getting, or would that be pushing the scope too far?), ASI120MC.

Processing: AS!2 (4000-5000 frames for these images), Registax 6 for wavelets, Photoshop elements for final levels

The first 3 have been enlarged to 150%, the last one is original size to show what I'm getting directly from the camera & 2x barlow. 

The above image at 'original' size:

[oldpink]

really nice images you got there

as to Barlow you should be fine going up just watch out for the focal length but a 3 or 4 should be usable

[HAL9000]

Thanks oldpink, yeah I think a 3x Barlow may be on order very soon - I wasn't sure how far you could push the magnification before the image gets too 'dark' to be usable without negatively affecting exposure time & frame rate. The 180 mak is f15, so a 3x barlow would make it f45 (that's my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong!) which sounds quite high to me! What do people get away with for Mars?

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice image, quite similar to the one I shot at F/30 (TeleXtender) in my C8 with an ASI120MC. I think yours are a touch sharper (but I might tweak the processing a bit, to extract more)

I have seen some really nice shots at F/40 with the ASI120 and a C9.25, so longer F-ratios can work

[oldpink]

didn't realize that it was a F15, so a 3 would be on the max

[james_screech]

Very nice sharp images, on nights of good seeing you could probably get away with more magnification. One option would be a spacer between your current barlow and camera.

James

[SnakeyJ]

Very nice shot from the 180Mak, and the quality of image easily justifies the rescale - great results

[JamesF]

Indeed.  Very nice results.

James

[sologuitarist61]

Great detail and colour - well done!

[HAL9000]

Thanks for the comments! 

Michael I reckon your image could definitely have more detail hiding in it, it looks similar to mine before I attacked them with the wavelets! 

[Pete Presland]

welcome to the Mars club, they are a fine set of images well done!!!

[johnh]

These are some of the best from the UK.

John.

[astroman001]

Nice set of images. well done.

Peter