Another Venus try, this time with several filters 30/04/2023

[NenoVento]

Hi all,

I'm still struggling to capture Venus's elusive (at leat to me) clouds. Yesterday the sky was quite clear but also there was some wind, which carries sea salty air (we call it "maresía" here) that quickly messes with the scope's corrector plate, so not the best conditions you may say. Anyhow, I decided to try a new approach which allowes me to test 5 filters: 

Astronomik L2

Optolong IR685

ZWO IR850

Thor Labs FGUVM

ZWB1

 

The two latest filters (which are UV ones) kind of show something, don't you think?.

I still hope that these cheapish filters can do the trick of bringing up Venus' clouds. All I need is a clearer sky and, possibly, a faster mono camera (these images were captured at about 27 fps, which is as fast as I've managed to get it go).

The gear:

• Sky-Watcher Skymax 180 PRO
• RB Focus Merlin 3.0
• ZWO 5x1.25" Electronic Filter Wheel
• Astronomik L2, Optolong IR685, ZWO IR850, Thor Labs FGUVM, ZWB1
• Risingcam GPCMOS02000KMA
• Sky-Watcher HEQ5

The software:

• CdC
• FireCapture 
• Autostakkert 
• RegiStax 
• The Gimp 

Thanks for looking,

NV

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by NenoVento
typo

[Kon]

Looks good. The two UV captures have some nice clouds there and I think the last one has more contrast (I had a quick look online and it seems to have some IR leak?). Your IR images also have some details. I have the Astromania UV filter and it is great for a cheap one.

[NenoVento]

Hi @Kon, unfortunately Astromanía doesn't make shipments to Spain. Where did you get your set?.

Best regards,

NV

[Kon]

2 hours ago, NenoVento said:

Hi @Kon, unfortunately Astromanía doesn't make shipments to Spain. Where did you get your set?.

Best regards,

NV

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Astromania-1-25-Inch-Specialized-Planetary-Ultraviolet/dp/B07C3K7J16/ref=sr_1_4?crid=CG9M5V9CYQ84&keywords=astromania+planet&qid=1683025211&sprefix=astromania+planet%2Caps%2C56&sr=8-4

[NenoVento]

I've been looking for other options and, according to this thread in CN, Baader's UBVRI Photometric Johnson/Bessel U-Filter looks really promissing. By looking at its transmittance data, this filter is is rather similar to the Thor Labs' FGUVM I already have, but without the IR leak, as you can see in this plot I've put together:

Yay... I've found one for sale second hand in mainland Spain... Not anymore, now it is in its way to my home ;-)...

In hindsight, I should have bought Baader's U-Venus filter to begin with, I would have had "the right thing" months ago and even saved myself some money... 

Best regards,

NV

Edited May 2, 2023 by NenoVento

[NenoVento]

9 minutes ago, Kon said:

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Astromania-1-25-Inch-Specialized-Planetary-Ultraviolet/dp/B07C3K7J16/ref=sr_1_4?crid=CG9M5V9CYQ84&keywords=astromania+planet&qid=1683025211&sprefix=astromania+planet%2Caps%2C56&sr=8-4

Thanks @Kon. For some reason Amazon UK doesn't send this to the Canary Islands either. Ah well, as I said, Baader's U-Filter is in its way already. Hopefully it will do the trick!.

Regards,

NV