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First ever attempt at Mars!


MylesGibson

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Seeing as Mars is at the closest approach to Earth for quite some time, I thought I would have a go at trying to image it. I had tried earlier this year with Jupiter and Saturn, and they didn't turn out very well, so I wasn't expecting much. However, for a first attempt, I'm quite happy with this! Although I wave some questions!

I took the capture in ASICAP using a ZWO 290MC on my Skywatcher 150p (my refractor didn't give me enough mag and my SCT would take too long to cool as I only had a short window for clear skies!)

I took a 180s AVI with the gain set to 180, exposure time of 5ms and turned the ADC on. I also used an IR cut filter.

51094157_Mars180sExp5G180RAWADCPNG.png.892a4e82fe087e77ac7997e962e7730e.png

So, I took a few different AVIs, some with a RAW output, some not, some with ADC on, some off, and different exposure and gain settings. I noticed subtle differences, but is there any preferred way to do it? Should the ADC be on? Should I have the RAW output? Or not? Would be nice to get some tips from more experienced planetary imagers!

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5 hours ago, orion25 said:

Wow! what clarity and detail! Great image!

Thank you. It had been raining most of the day which I think got rid of a lot of the moisture hanging around in the skies, and fortunately, Mars is quite high up! Will probably take a few more over the next few weeks as I want to get used to using ASICAP in preparation for more planetary shots in the next few years. 

 

47 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

Great first attempt, you've picked up a lot of detail.

Thanks, as I said above, the conditions seemed to be pretty good last night and the strangest part is the British weather actually giving me a chance!

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Hi Myles,

That's a great image! The raw data will always beat the compressed, and if the object is lower than 30 degree altitude then ADC will help tho counter the atmospheric dispersion. You can do without ADC  and align the red and blue channels manually in Registax but probably will lose some sharpness.

However I've found that all of the above have much smaller effect than the seeing, well collimated optics and precise focus.  

Clear skies!

 

Nikolay

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3 hours ago, Nik271 said:

Hi Myles,

That's a great image! The raw data will always beat the compressed, and if the object is lower than 30 degree altitude then ADC will help tho counter the atmospheric dispersion. You can do without ADC  and align the red and blue channels manually in Registax but probably will lose some sharpness.

However I've found that all of the above have much smaller effect than the seeing, well collimated optics and precise focus.  

Clear skies!

 

Nikolay

I am still learning too, the precise focus is the hardest part any tips on how to get it better. Especially when the seeing isn't perfect.

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9 hours ago, Nik271 said:

Hi Myles,

That's a great image! The raw data will always beat the compressed, and if the object is lower than 30 degree altitude then ADC will help tho counter the atmospheric dispersion. You can do without ADC  and align the red and blue channels manually in Registax but probably will lose some sharpness.

However I've found that all of the above have much smaller effect than the seeing, well collimated optics and precise focus.  

Clear skies!

 

Nikolay

Thank you, much appreciated! Thanks for the clarification on the RAW and ADC questions!

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