First view of Saturn in several weeks

[1f2901290]

First view of Saturn in several weeks since it has been extremely cloudy. This is also the first test of capturing Saturn with my new camera (Canon Rebel T7). A 3x barlow lens was used. No processing/stacking, though I did capture some video too that I may use to try and learn how to process/align and stack.

Off the top of my head I believe these two photos use ISO 6400, and a shutter speed of 1/60 or so.

I'm also pretty sure the white dot down and to the left of Saturn is star HIP115311 https://www.universeguide.com/star/115311/hip115311#facts

[josefk]

Nice. I had the pleasure of observing an early season Saturn after dawn on Sunday just passed. It was a bit bigger in the EP than your images here and fantastic against a china blue sky even with the magnification i was using . The rings at this narrow angle (and that your pictures show nicely) were striking for me after several months since my last observation and considerable narrowing of the angle of tilt since last year. I saw it like a ping pong ball pierced by a cocktail stick. Will be super as the year goes on. 👍

[Elp]

Such a unique orientation to see, I haven't looked at it for years so hopefully can capture it later this year when it's higher up for longer.

[1f2901290]

On 07/06/2024 at 07:27, josefk said:

Nice. I had the pleasure of observing an early season Saturn after dawn on Sunday just passed. It was a bit bigger in the EP than your images here and fantastic against a china blue sky even with the magnification i was using . The rings at this narrow angle (and that your pictures show nicely) were striking for me after several months since my last observation and considerable narrowing of the angle of tilt since last year. I saw it like a ping pong ball pierced by a cocktail stick. Will be super as the year goes on. 👍

Yeah in my 3mm EP it also appears bigger, and you can just barely make out the gap between the planet and its rings if you focus your eye enough.

I've spent a couple more days taking photos/videos at various shutter speeds and/or ISO levels, and have been learning to process/stack them. Lots of room for improvement still, as I do feel like I'm doing certain parts of the process incorrectly (any tips from whoever is reading would be appreciated), but I was able to bring out some darker colors of gas I think (could also just be really bad processing). The darkest band is just the rings I'm pretty sure.. I'm going to try different barlow lenses next and continue playing around with camera settings to get it to work with my setup.

On 07/06/2024 at 10:30, Elp said:

Such a unique orientation to see, I haven't looked at it for years so hopefully can capture it later this year when it's higher up for longer.

It has definitely made it a challenge to photograph and learn to stack with! As you can see above, the rings are pretty blurry and have an odd 'shadow' to them.

[1f2901290]

Little better...

[Astronomist]

Very nice! what scope are you using?

[1f2901290]

4 hours ago, Astronomist said:

Very nice! what scope are you using?

Sky-Watcher Classic 250P

I do eventually want to buy a refractor and a proper mount, but for now this will do

[Astronomist]

3 hours ago, 1f2901290 said:

I do eventually want to buy a refractor and a proper mount

What you have is probably better than most refractors for imaging the planets due to the large aperture. Refractors of non-gigantic size are better suited to deep sky imaging.

[orion25]

Nice pics. What an edge! Your scope has great aperture for getting bright planets with a barlow.

Regards,

Reggie

[1f2901290]

3 hours ago, Astronomist said:

What you have is probably better than most refractors for imaging the planets due to the large aperture. Refractors of non-gigantic size are better suited to deep sky imaging.

Yeah I just don't like collimating though lol, and I do want to eventually progress toward imaging DSOs. My (small) balcony is where I most frequently image and observe, which would greatly benefit from a relatively smaller scope when needed :P