My first attempts at Saturn!

[Shera]

Hi,

I've been having a go at capturing the Jupiter and Saturn over the past few weeks and this week I tried to get Saturn. My second attempt is better than the first but I need some advice about how to make the images clearer.

My set up is:

A Skywatcher reflector telescope (I can't find what model it is, I have every piece of info other than that)

An EQ2 mount

Barlow 2x lens

10mm lens

"Super 25" Wide angle long eye relief lens

iPhone 6

The first picture was my first go using the 10mm lens (I forgot about the Barlow) and the second picture is the 10mm with the Barlow both processed through PIPP and then stacked on Registax. Both were taken through an upstairs window as I thought that Saturn was too low to view from my garden (found out last night this wasn't the case but I would only have a short window of time to take images). If I want a clearer image (I couldn't see much more detail looking through the telescope myself) then should I be getting better lenses or am I limited by the type of telescope I have? Does the window have an effect? Is the second image what people would expect given the set up or is there something else I can do? Thanks

[Erla]

Yes, window has an effect. Actually, taken through the window with an iPhone - surprisingly good image! 

[Shera]

1 minute ago, Erla said:

Yes, window has an effect. Actually, taken through the window with an iPhone - surprisingly good image! 

And it has condensation lol ok might try outside tonight in the 5 minutes I have before the houses get in the way!

[PeterCPC]

It looks out of focus to me. If you want advise using an iphone - I can't help. Best planetary imaging is done using a dedicated planetary imaging camera but that will obviously be at a cost. Never take images through a glass window.

Peter

[Shera]

1 minute ago, PeterCPC said:

It looks out of focus to me. If you want advise using an iphone - I can't help. Best planetary imaging is done using a dedicated planetary imaging camera but that will obviously be at a cost. Never take images through a glass window.

Peter

Thanks. It looked slightly unclear looking through the telescope with the naked eye, must be the window.

[Craney]

Saturn is so difficult at the moment.     Ok, your image will not probably be chosen for the next NASA calendar, but it is a result that gives a glimpse of what can be imaged...... and that is the hook.   If you feel you need to improve then you will be there tonight, better prepared,  wiser and avoiding any 'mistakes'  you made last night.

It does become a compulsion, so beware !!   

I was out last night trying for Saturn.   ( My second attempt...although I have done a bit on Jupiter and Venus in the past)......  BIgger telescope, EQ mount,  dew heater, focusing aid, planetary cam....... and my results are not significantly better than yours.    So keep at it  and enjoy the challenge.

 

Sean.

[A budding astronomer]

That's a good first image, I tend not to use phones as cameras in astrophotography because without a stabiliser they are very wobbly. As well, try not to take pictures or observe in general through a window, as it really effects the object you are viewing.

I have linked my first images taken through a 4.5 inch reflector and a Neximage Burst camera and stacked and processed in Registax 6.1. You can see the difference between the phone and the astrophotography camera.

If you pick up even a used Neximage 5 you should get a LOT more detail of Saturn.

Clear skies

Adam

[DaveTp]

I started with an iPhone and bracket on the eyepiece. Very inspiring what you are able to capture as a starting point. More recently I've been using a batinov mask to pre focus on a random star prior to getting onto my planetary target. This has really helped me get my focussing sorted.

I've recently bought a Celestron NexImage 5 and this has doubled my interest in getting into imaging. I'd definitely recommend getting a dedicated camera.

[Pete Presland]

Brilliant image for a camera phone especially thorough a window as well!

[Shera]

Thanks for all the advice! Here is an image taken tonight still using the same set up but outside!

[Bengrant76]

Hi Shera

it sounds like you're at a similar stage and using similar kit to me. heres an image i got at the weekend with my Motorola G3 phones camera and a 5" Muksatov with 10mm eypeice. not too dissimillar I would have thought? you seem to have got a nicer more natural colour than me though. Definatley removing the window helps!

[Shera]

19 hours ago, Bengrant76 said:

Hi Shera

it sounds like you're at a similar stage and using similar kit to me. heres an image i got at the weekend with my Motorola G3 phones camera and a 5" Muksatov with 10mm eypeice. not too dissimillar I would have thought? you seem to have got a nicer more natural colour than me though. Definatley removing the window helps!

Yeah very similar! To get the colour I just let Registax sort out what it thought was the best RGB balance! Do you think you will invest in more expensive kit? I'm intrigued by this https://www.altairastro.com/Altair-GPCAMV2-IMX224-Colour-Guide-Planetary-Camera.html but are they worth the price and are they any good using a basic telescope?! I want to try and take pictures of the Milky Way and different galaxies and I need something that will do that but what?! And what that costs £200 max as I'm still not sure how committed I will be! These questions are me just thinking out loud, not aimed at you lol.

[rodrigol]

Given the conditions, these are really good!

 

[Shera]

2 hours ago, rodrigol said:

Given the conditions, these are really good!

 

Thanks. I did get really frustrated trying to get the images!

[Bengrant76]

3 hours ago, Shera said:

Yeah very similar! To get the colour I just let Registax sort out what it thought was the best RGB balance! Do you think you will invest in more expensive kit? I'm intrigued by this https://www.altairastro.com/Altair-GPCAMV2-IMX224-Colour-Guide-Planetary-Camera.html but are they worth the price and are they any good using a basic telescope?! I want to try and take pictures of the Milky Way and different galaxies and I need something that will do that but what?! And what that costs £200 max as I'm still not sure how committed I will be! These questions are me just thinking out loud, not aimed at you lol.

At first i didnt think i would bother investing in more expensive kit, i live in a light polluted town with few opportunities to use it, but i think i am getting bitten by the bug, and now i've seen whats possible with basic kit I'm intrigued what could be achieved with a specialist device. I guess whether its worth investing boils down to how much you will use it. Im no expert on imaging equipment, I'll leave commenting on that to those with more experience but i was intrigued by the reccomendation of the Neximage 5 by a poster above. cost wise it would fit the bill for me.

One frustration i have with using my phone is its a devil of a job lining up the camera with the eyepiece, although im getting better with practice. however on the flip side its, convenient, portable and doesnt require a laptop. I use open camera software as it allows me to tweak the settings a bit more than the standard bundled camera app, but im not sure how well that will work on an iPhone.

I think we should expect to get more detail if saturn was higher in the sky, the lower an object in the sky the less detail you will get. have you tried Jupiter? i was able to resolve the three bands and the GRS without any processing when it was at opposition, and i was really able to get some definition using Registax... I guess it being darker then helped too.

[DaveTp]

I don't miss spending an age trying to get just the right view and alignment on the phone screen!

not to mention the paranoia of dropping the thing in the dark off the bracket!

But but but using the phone definitely got me into it planetary imaging. 

these are from last year in May single image NO processing Dob 200p hand guided and iPhone5s

[Bengrant76]

Love that you captured a transit shadow on that jupiter pic!

[Shera]

27 minutes ago, Bengrant76 said:

At first i didnt think i would bother investing in more expensive kit, i live in a light polluted town with few opportunities to use it, but i think i am getting bitten by the bug, and now i've seen whats possible with basic kit I'm intrigued what could be achieved with a specialist device. I guess whether its worth investing boils down to how much you will use it. Im no expert on imaging equipment, I'll leave commenting on that to those with more experience but i was intrigued by the reccomendation of the Neximage 5 by a poster above. cost wise it would fit the bill for me.

One frustration i have with using my phone is its a devil of a job lining up the camera with the eyepiece, although im getting better with practice. however on the flip side its, convenient, portable and doesnt require a laptop. I use open camera software as it allows me to tweak the settings a bit more than the standard bundled camera app, but im not sure how well that will work on an iPhone.

I think we should expect to get more detail if saturn was higher in the sky, the lower an object in the sky the less detail you will get. have you tried Jupiter? i was able to resolve the three bands and the GRS without any processing when it was at opposition, and i was really able to get some definition using Registax... I guess it being darker then helped too.

Wow the image on the right is great! I assume you're on Android? If so what is the App called as I have an Android phone but I did think the images on an iPhone seemed better. My Jupiter looks very similar to the left image using an iPhone but no additional Apps.

[Shera]

Just now, Bengrant76 said:

Love that you captured a transit shadow on that jupiter pic!

Me too!

[Bengrant76]

1 minute ago, Shera said:

Wow the image on the right is great! I assume you're on Android? If so what is the App called as I have an Android phone but I did think the images on an iPhone seemed better. My Jupiter looks very similar to the left image using an iPhone but no additional Apps.

Its just called "Open Camera" and is available on the play store. you can do stuff like set a delay timer, set voice activated exposures (to avoid accidental movement) set the ISO. The right hand image is just the left one processed using the wavelet function in Registax. I tried the same with my saturn image but just couldnt coax any detail out!

 

[Shera]

It's a skill just getting the phone against the eyepiece and it actually capturing anything and then trying to keep your hand still whilst pressing record! Any neighbours sitting outside enjoying the warm evenings probably hate me now as I have been swearing quite a bit lol

[Shera]

1 minute ago, Bengrant76 said:

Its just called "Open Camera" and is available on the play store. you can do stuff like set a delay timer, set voice activated exposures (to avoid accidental movement) set the ISO. The right hand image is just the left one processed using the wavelet function in Registax. I tried the same with my saturn image but just couldnt coax any detail out!

 

Thanks I'll have a look for that.

[Bengrant76]

2 minutes ago, Shera said:

Thanks I'll have a look for that.

I'll look forward to seeing your results!

 

[Bengrant76]

4 minutes ago, Shera said:

It's a skill just getting the phone against the eyepiece and it actually capturing anything and then trying to keep your hand still whilst pressing record! Any neighbours sitting outside enjoying the warm evenings probably hate me now as I have been swearing quite a bit lol

Do you just hold your phone against the eyepiece? for just over a tenner you can buy a bracket which helps enourmously!!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0188KP6T8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Shera]

9 hours ago, Bengrant76 said:

Do you just hold your phone against the eyepiece? for just over a tenner you can buy a bracket which helps enourmously!!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0188KP6T8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks, yes I have been lol