Saturn - 17 March 2008

[dweller25]

My second imaging attempt of Saturn.....

C9.25, x2 Celestron Ultima Barlow, Phillips SPC900NC webcam, 1/25 sec, 10 FPS, 0 gain, 80% brightness.

(click to enlarge)

[beamish]

Fantastic capture there ! Well done.

Karlo

[jgs001]

Very nice 8)

[dweller25]

Same as the above but with a Tal x3 Barlow.....

(click to enlarge)

[DanDare]

Very nice, prefer the 1st one as its a tad sharper with good colours.

Roy

[Sam]

That's a very good capture! - The planet shadow on the rings are clearly visible as is the ring shadow on the planet. The cassini division is also quite evident a fair way along the rings. I think the first one is a bit sharper with a bit more contrast - well done!!

[Brinders]

:hello1:

Hell Dave you're getting good at this. I too prefer the first image as it is indeed sharper, but I'd be proud of either of them. Do you think the Celestron Ultima Barlow is better then the TAL? I was thinking of getting the TAL X3 myself (it has certainly produced a larger image here) but looking at your first image maybe I should consider the Celestron Ultima first and replace my TA X2 barlow with that.

Anyway, brilliant images, keep up the good work.

Brinders

[dweller25]

Thanks for all the kind comments.

Brinders - these are the best images taken with the two Barlows.

The x3 Tal is not bad for the money. I am betting a good quality x3 Barlow is big bucks - anyone got a recommendation ?

The x2 Celestron Ultima is excellent for both visual and imaging.

I am going to try experimenting with the Celestron x2 Barlow and extension tubes to get more magnification - does anyone have any pointers ???

(click to enlarge)

[legion48]

Both great captures there.

If you are after more magnification why don't you try stacking the x2 and the x3 barlows? I did that last night on Saturn with a x2 and a x4.

[beamish]

I am betting a good quality x3 Barlow is big bucks - anyone got a recommendation ?

Having missed out on the recent4x imagemate i have turned my attention to this,

http://store.smartastronomy.com/1143xbarlow.html !!

I bought the 5x from them and happy with it but this is an ED barlow, even with shipping (very reasonable) this is a steal !!

or this

http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=7749

Karlo

[Tim]

lovely crisp images there, really nice.

how did you process them as a matter of interest?

Cheers

TJ

[dweller25]

Hello TJ,

I ensure the scope is very well cooled down and it's been collimated - although I know it could be a little better on the collimation front.

The images I collect are avi files straight from the Phillips SPC900NC webcam - don't know what RAW is yet. I image at 1/25sec, 10FPS for 120 secs, no gain, 50% gamma, around 75/80% brightness.

Then I process them in Registax - I pick a decent frame early on in the sequence and then select the rest of the frames that are within 85% of it in terms of quality. Then I run it on auto with the Gradient setting selected - not sure if that makes any difference.

Once the images are stacked I play with the wavelet settings to get a bit more sharpness and that's it. I really do not have much experience of Registax yet.

I do not do any further processing at all.

I think I am overexposing a little which is why I get no subtle detail - or maybe the seeing is carp - time will tell.

Hope That Helps

D25

[geoff_k]

HTH

Both very nice images, although I slightly prefer the 2x Barlow one.

I have the Celestron Ultima and it is an excellent Barlow. I have a 3x Barlow from Orion USA which is not bad, but I guess there are better ones about.

You are probably finding as I have that the seeing is not great. Saturn more often than not just looks like an additional star in Leo as it is twinkling so much.

I'm personally finding the seeing very frustrating as days (and weeks) just slip by without a really clear night. Before you know it, Saturn will be gone.

[gary1968]

Nice capture, you have a lot of detail / colour there. Keep 'em coming...... :hello1:

Gary