First Success With Jupiter

[Startinez]

Quite happy with the results but also well aware that it could be a lot better. 

 

130PDS, Altair GPCAM3 224C, an untracked ~35s video stacked and processed as you'd expect with PIPP, Registax, then GIMP for final touches.

 

How does this seem for approx. 22:30 last night? Sky was really clear but obviously Jupiter isn't all that high at the moment. 

[Stargazer33]

Looks pretty good to me. I don't have experience of your 'scope or camera so can't comment there. It looks like you have a bit of dispersion - red fringing at top of Jupiter and blue at the bottom. Try an RGB alignment in Registax or GIMP. It should clean that up a bit. For the planets an ADC - atmospheric dispersion corrector is almost essential in the UK, especially with our damp weather and the planets being so low at the moment (seen through more atmosphere).

Edited July 15, 2019 by Stargazer33

[carastro]

Quote

Quite happy with the results but also well aware that it could be a lot better. 

 

130PDS, Altair GPCAM3 224C, an untracked ~35s video stacked and processed as you'd expect with PIPP, Registax, then GIMP for final touches.

 

How does this seem for approx. 22:30 last night? Sky was really clear but obviously Jupiter isn't all that high at the moment. 

Yay!!   You've used it!

So how did you get around the 1.25"/2" focusser problem?

If it's any consolation Jon, I find planetary imaging even when the planets are higher, much more tricky than DS imaging.

Carole 

 

[Startinez]

7 minutes ago, carastro said:

Yay!!   You've used it!

So how did you get around the 1.25"/2" focusser problem?

If it's any consolation Jon, I find planetary imaging even when the planets are higher, much more tricky than DS imaging.

Carole 

 

For now I've just not used the coma corrector! Easiest solution until I've heard something back from FLO.

[carastro]

Oh yes, I forgot that was the problem, and the eyepiece has both 2" and 1.25" openings.  Surprised FLO hasn't replied yet, unless you've only just messaged them.

Carole 

[Startinez]

1 hour ago, Stargazer33 said:

Looks pretty good to me. I don't have experience of your 'scope or camera so can't comment there. It looks like you have a bit of dispersion - red fringing at top of Jupiter and blue at the bottom. Try an RGB alignment in Registax or GIMP. It should clean that up a bit. For the planets an ADC - atmospheric dispersion corrector is almost essential in the UK, especially with our damp weather and the planets being so low at the moment (seen through more atmosphere).

I have an IR filter (not sure if they're the same thing?) but I think I couldn't find a good focus with that on, so I took it off. As for the RGB align I did choose that in Registax which took the overall colour from a murky green to the grey/blue that it is now. I did post process the curves and levels in GIMP after that though, could that have flared up the poles?

 

58 minutes ago, carastro said:

Oh yes, I forgot that was the problem, and the eyepiece has both 2" and 1.25" openings.  Surprised FLO hasn't replied yet, unless you've only just messaged them.

Carole 

They did get back to me about my initial query but had a question of their own. Its ongoing but they are helping. 

[Jarvo]

Love it. Can you push those wavelets in Registax a bit further? Looks like there’s more detail lurking in there. 

Jarvo

[Startinez]

10 hours ago, Jarvo said:

Love it. Can you push those wavelets in Registax a bit further? Looks like there’s more detail lurking in there. 

Jarvo

This was up towards max on the first slider, and any other alterations didn't seem to make any difference or were perhaps just too subtle for me to notice. 

 

I'd planned on uploading the PIPP processed video but this seems to keep failing despite being well below the maximum size threshold, so I've uploaded the post Registax image instead. Would be interesting for me to see if there's a lot I could gain from processing.

[Stargazer33]

19 hours ago, Startinez said:

I have an IR filter (not sure if they're the same thing?) but I think I couldn't find a good focus with that on, so I took it off. As for the RGB align I did choose that in Registax which took the overall colour from a murky green to the grey/blue that it is now. I did post process the curves and levels in GIMP after that though, could that have flared up the poles?

No, an IR cut filter will cut out the red end of the spectrum going into the infra red. As apposed to an IR pass filter which will only pass the electromagnetic spectrum above red visible light (infra red).

An ADC looks a bit like a barlow lens with a couple of levers sticking out of the side. It is used to re-focus the light that has been split by our atmosphere.

Sounds like you did an RGB balance rather than an RGB align. If you click on the RGB align button and then click the estimate button, the program will do it for you. Sometimes is does get it wrong and you have to play with the red and blue up/down & left/right controls, which is quite easy. Zoom in to make things easier for yourself.

Playing with GIMP(!) shouldn't effect the RGB alignment unless you split the channels into red, green and blue and then nudged the red image up and the blue image down; and then merged them back together.

You Tube is a great source of 'How To' video tutorials for Photoshop and GIMP is very similar, so techniques used for Photoshop should transfer across. Things might be called by slightly different names or be in a different place, but they basically do the same thing.

Good luck with your imaging and keep posting the results.

[Startinez]

1 hour ago, Stargazer33 said:

No, an IR cut filter will cut out the red end of the spectrum going into the infra red. As apposed to an IR pass filter which will only pass the electromagnetic spectrum above red visible light (infra red).

An ADC looks a bit like a barlow lens with a couple of levers sticking out of the side. It is used to re-focus the light that has been split by our atmosphere.

Sounds like you did an RGB balance rather than an RGB align. If you click on the RGB align button and then click the estimate button, the program will do it for you. Sometimes is does get it wrong and you have to play with the red and blue up/down & left/right controls, which is quite easy. Zoom in to make things easier for yourself.

Playing with GIMP(!) shouldn't effect the RGB alignment unless you split the channels into red, green and blue and then nudged the red image up and the blue image down; and then merged them back together.

You Tube is a great source of 'How To' video tutorials for Photoshop and GIMP is very similar, so techniques used for Photoshop should transfer across. Things might be called by slightly different names or be in a different place, but they basically do the same thing.

Good luck with your imaging and keep posting the results.

Thanks Bryan, I really appreciate the detailed response. I'll take a look at those things as I have some more data from Sunday night left to process yet

[Startinez]

Wowee, what a huge difference that's made to the clarity! I played about with the RGB align and it seems a little better but still noticeable to me.

[Pete Presland]

Some nice detail there, UK planetary imaging is difficult at the best of times.