Jupiter and Saturn photos

[monetrun]

I was finally able to capture Jupiter and Saturn photos tonight.  Jupiter was bright white until i took a really fast ISO100 image.  I'm really really excited about these   They aren't perfect but they're my personal best.  I'm using a DSLR on top of an eyepiece attachment.  I was never able to focus the DSLR on planets without the eyepiece.  

Mount:  Sky-Watcher EQ6 from Skywatcher
Scope:   Explore Scientific 127mm aperture (5 inches), 952mm length (aluminum triple pane refractor)
Imaging camera: Sony A65 DSLR
Eyepieces: Explore Scientific 6.7mm  82 degrees
Orion power supply

 

[monetrun]

Just noticed dots on the planets.  I’ve read the one on Jupiter is a moon shadow.  Is that true for Saturn also?  I keep wiping my screen to see if it’s dirt.

[Knighty2112]

Hi monetrun. I just ran Skysafari Pro on my ipad. There was a shadow of Io on Jupiter on Friday 16:00 UK time, and Minesota is 5 hrs behind the UK, so that would be late morning for you about 11:00. Saturn didn’t have any transit shadows, and I'm not sure that it has them like Jupiter as it doesn't line up with Earth like Jupiter does to get these. Check you camera and scope for any dirt or defect on their lenses etc.

 

[Stu]

Nice captures. I suspect the dots might be the same spec of dust or dirt somewhere in the imaging train. Whilst Jupiter does have shadow transits which are obvious, those on Saturn are much less frequent and harder to spot.

What time and date were these taken?

[monetrun]

The dots do appear to be something on the scope or camera.  How do I check the telescope lenses?  If it’s dust inside, is it a good idea to take the scope apart to clean it 

[Galen Gilmore]

Correct me if I am wrong, but a small dot of dust on the photo like that would have to be directly on the sensor of the camera. A spot on the lens/mirror probably wouldn't even be visible because of the long focal lengths involved in telescopes.

[John]

3 minutes ago, Galen Gilmore said:

Correct me if I am wrong, but a small dot of dust on the photo like that would have to be directly on the sensor of the camera. A spot on the lens/mirror probably wouldn't even be visible because of the long focal lengths involved in telescopes.

I agree - most likely debris or dust on the sensor.

[des anderson]

A great start and for a first attempt there not half bad. Des