help with imaging

[nightstar]

i have just purchased an atik 161c monochrome camera and efw filterwheel to attach to my celestron c8.i would like to image saturn,could anyone please tell what additional filters etc i would need and how to go about it. i have neglected to mention i also have short tube 80 guide scope and relevant software.any help much apprieciated.nightstar

[orionhunter]

theres a sticky on here somewhere on filters. very good advice on which filters are best for various applications.

[jgs001]

I'm not sure on filters for this, but you won't need the guidescope for Saturn... You want high frame rates (very short exposures) and capture a sequence, then combine them.

[ollypenrice]

The 16ic is not a dedicated planetary camera but more a deep sky device. As far as I know its download time precludes fast frame rate capture. I have two but use them as guide cameras. I would start by using the classic RGB filters and plenty of short exposures, experimenting with exposure times to avoid over exposure. I'd use the Artemis FWHM on a star first to get focus. The problem you may face will be planetary rotation which may become significant in the time it takes to dowload a set of frames for each filter. You will certainly want parfocal filters since refocusing between colours would take too long. The Baader LRGB set is excellent and less expensive than some. I find them parfocal on my setups.

Once you have your RGB set you need a programme to combine them. I use AstroArt but others may have other preferences.

I'm not a planetary imager but chuck in my two penn'orth because I have the 16ic. One of mine is mono and one colour.

Did you receive a 0.5 focal reducer with your camera? I think I did. For deep sky you might find it a must because your C8 has a long focal length and the 16ic chip is small.

Olly