Mars & Uranus from North Cornwall 21-1-21

[AstroNebulee]

Here are my first planetary images produced from finally getting my set up outside for the first time ever.  As in my observing thread I said I got my skymax 127 and az gti mount outside as this is more portable than my previous set up of sw explorer 150p eq 3-2 which I never got outside.  So I was like a child in a sweetshop when I was observing and imaging last night, though very basic imaging.  I know they aren't the best but I'm happy to start with Mars is probably a little over processed in Registax. I'm absolutely chuffed to bits to image Uranus, I've never seen let alone image Uranus before. Clear skies.

[CraigT82]

Both are great images... really nice work! 

[AstroNebulee]

2 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

Both are great images... really nice work! 

Thank you Craig, I did think I've over processed Mars a little but the detail just wasn't coming out in processing with registax so went a bit hard with it.

[maw lod qan]

Very nice! 

Uranus is still on my list of to dos!

[AstroNebulee]

7 minutes ago, maw lod qan said:

Very nice! 

Uranus is still on my list of to dos!

I was amazed when I saw it and the small avi file processed ok. Clear skies 

[Nik271]

You've captured good detail on Mars, it is tiny now, less than 9'', and Uranus is just over 3'' so great images for these conditions! 

[AstroNebulee]

1 minute ago, Nik271 said:

You've captured good detail on Mars, it is tiny now, less than 9'', and Uranus is just over 3'' so great images for these conditions! 

Thank Nik, I would of loved to of had this mount when Mars was in opposition last year and what results I would of had with it compared to the results I had through my bedroom window pane on my old heavy eq3-2 mount. Clear skies 

[Nik271]

It's interesting how blue Uranus looks on photographs, to me visually it looks sort of pale green/yellow. Neptune definitely looks blue though.

[AstroNebulee]

47 minutes ago, Nik271 said:

It's interesting how blue Uranus looks on photographs, to me visually it looks sort of pale green/yellow. Neptune definitely looks blue though.

It sure does, when I was looking at Uranus through the ep it was a very dark sky blue colour.

[dweller25]

Excellent images 👍

[Dario]

Very good pictures!

What camera did you use for that? And for how long did you track? I never tried imaging but I want to give a trial soon and have the same scope and mount than you. I have a smartphone adaptor so I will tried that as first. Getting something similar to these pictures would be great! 

15 hours ago, LeeHore7 said:

Here are my first planetary images produced from finally getting my set up outside for the first time ever.  As in my observing thread I said I got my skymax 127 and az gti mount outside as this is more portable than my previous set up of sw explorer 150p eq 3-2 which I never got outside.  So I was like a child in a sweetshop when I was observing and imaging last night, though very basic imaging.  I know they aren't the best but I'm happy to start with Mars is probably a little over processed in Registax. I'm absolutely chuffed to bits to image Uranus, I've never seen let alone image Uranus before. Clear skies.

 

[AstroNebulee]

38 minutes ago, Dario said:

Very good pictures!

What camera did you use for that? And for how long did you track? I never tried imaging but I want to give a trial soon and have the same scope and mount than you. I have a smartphone adaptor so I will tried that as first. Getting something similar to these pictures would be great! 

 

Thank you Dario, for these 2 images, I took the captures using my zwo asi120 mcs and 2xbarlow on my skymax 127 az gti mount.  The mars capture was 33 seconds and Uranus was only 6 seconds.  I then processed in PIPP then stacked in Autostakkert 3 and the resulting file I used wavelets in Regisatx 6 and a final tweak in Photoshop.  Clear skies

 

[orion25]

Nice images! It's great that you are still able to get some detail on Mars. I remember seeing Uranus for the first time through my 180mm Mak and being floored by the blue-green disc. I got an image once of Mars and Uranus at conjunction :https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/288016-mars-uranus-conjunction/?tab=comments#comment-3156994

 

 

[AstroNebulee]

4 hours ago, orion25 said:

Nice images! It's great that you are still able to get some detail on Mars. I remember seeing Uranus for the first time through my 180mm Mak and being floored by the blue-green disc. I got an image once of Mars and Uranus at conjunction :https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/288016-mars-uranus-conjunction/?tab=comments#comment-3156994

 

 

That's a great video of the conjunction in 2017, nice capture with your dslr. Clear skies 

[orion25]

Hey, Lee, I have the Orion version of the Skywatcher 127 and I LOVE it. Even though I have the larger 180mm version (which I use primarily for imaging), I find that the 127mm is my most-used scope. It gives crisp and sharp views of the Moon, planets and bright DSOs, and is ultra-portable. I can take it with me anywhere. Have you tried imaging M42 yet? I attached my Nikon D3200 to my Skymax at took a 20 sec exposure (with tracking) to produce this:

[AstroNebulee]

36 minutes ago, orion25 said:

Hey, Lee, I have the Orion version of the Skywatcher 127 and I LOVE it. Even though I have the larger 180mm version (which I use primarily for imaging), I find that the 127mm is my most-used scope. It gives crisp and sharp views of the Moon, planets and bright DSOs, and is ultra-portable. I can take it with me anywhere. Have you tried imaging M42 yet? I attached my Nikon D3200 to my Skymax at took a 20 sec exposure (with tracking) to produce this:

Hi Orion

That's a good pair of scopes you have. My skymax 127 is with my az gti so very portable and scope in case in one hand, mount and tripod in other, then backpack with all my gear and laptop, do nice and easy. I used to have the sw explorer 150p eq3-2 but sold that as I never got it outside and this sale funded the az gti mount as I previously had my Skymax 127. Its a beauty on the moon and planets and some bright dso's but I've not imaged dso's with it yet. I do image them with my Canon 450d on Omegon lx2 tracker and used to with my 150p, see attached pic. Bug will try bright dso and clusters with ny Skymax 127. Clear skies 

[orion25]

1 hour ago, LeeHore7 said:

Hi Orion

That's a good pair of scopes you have. My skymax 127 is with my az gti so very portable and scope in case in one hand, mount and tripod in other, then backpack with all my gear and laptop, do nice and easy. I used to have the sw explorer 150p eq3-2 but sold that as I never got it outside and this sale funded the az gti mount as I previously had my Skymax 127. Its a beauty on the moon and planets and some bright dso's but I've not imaged dso's with it yet. I do image them with my Canon 450d on Omegon lx2 tracker and used to with my 150p, see attached pic. Bug will try bright dso and clusters with ny Skymax 127. Clear skies 

That's an excellent pic! How long was the exposure? The added aperture of the 150 does make a difference for imaging. I need to get a tracker for my 180mm Mak so I can do longer exposures with it for DSOs. For planets, I like capturing video using either my ZWO ASI 224MC or Orion 5MP StarShoot Solar System camera and processing the video in Registax 6 and Photoshop. I'm not a big fan of stacking but I'll do it if I can get a good image, lol.

[AstroNebulee]

8 hours ago, orion25 said:

That's an excellent pic! How long was the exposure? The added aperture of the 150 does make a difference for imaging. I need to get a tracker for my 180mm Mak so I can do longer exposures with it for DSOs.

The exposure was 8 seconds at 1600 iso prime focus. With my old 150p eq3-2 and RA tracker from my bedroom through a window, What mount do you use with your 180 in regards to getting a tracker, stacking is easy with DSOs I just use dss. 

[orion25]

3 hours ago, LeeHore7 said:

The exposure was 8 seconds at 1600 iso prime focus. With my old 150p eq3-2 and RA tracker from my bedroom through a window, What mount do you use with your 180 in regards to getting a tracker, stacking is easy with DSOs I just use dss. 

That image is worthy of publication, Lee I use the Orion SkyView Pro Equatorial mount for the 180mm, I affectionately call the Big Mak:

https://www.telescope.com/Orion-SkyView-Pro-Equatorial-Telescope-Mount/p/9829.uts

I'll need to get a tracker like this: 

https://www.telescope.com/Orion/Orion-Dual-Axis-TrueTrack-Telescope-Drive/rc/2160/p/7832.uts

I just haven't laid down the bucks to buy the tracker yet. My 127mm is already set with the Orion EQ-3M. I could step up to go-to but I don't know if I want to deal with all the electronics. I still like doing some things the old-fashioned way.

 

Reggie

[AstroNebulee]

Thanks Reggie, it was the best I've ever got M42, but that set up being sold now, will be trying back to basics with my az gti and dslr on my Omegon lx2 tracker. Your 180mm Mak has a fine mounting and tripod, the tracker will be a gid send to you and pull some fantastic images for you, go on buy the tracker you know you want to haha. Love to see more images from your big mak when you capture them. I'm finding the goto on my az gti nice and easy to use through my smartphone, just loving having the portability now. Clear skies 

[orion25]

I got some great Mars shots this time around with the Big Mak and the ZWO. Here  is one of my favorites:

You can see Olympus Mons near the top, the South polar cap and the "Eye of Mars" on the left limb.

[AstroNebulee]

7 hours ago, orion25 said:

I got some great Mars shots this time around with the Big Mak and the ZWO. Here  is one of my favorites:

You can see Olympus Mons near the top, the South polar cap and the "Eye of Mars" on the left limb.

That's a lovely image, there's certainly a lot of detsil in there, I would of loved to of had the setup I have now back when Mars was in opposition instead of what I had to view through my bedroom window. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by LeeHore7

[Pete Presland]

Very nice.

[AstroNebulee]

35 minutes ago, Pete Presland said:

Very nice.

Thanks Pete