Best software/technique for 1st webcam attempt of Jupiter?

[xboxdevil]

Hi Everyone

I've got a spc880nc, a nose piece, a laptop, and a skywatcher 300p auto. (I also have a 2" skywatcher LP filter that I don't really use - should I?)

As I'm starting from new I'd like ideas and opinions on the best way I can capture Jupiter if I get a chance tonight.

What is the best capture software? please let me know the best settings that you know of if you can.

What is the best method?

I've seen a few of you rave on about wxAstroCapture, if I downloaded this or similar would it be a case of capturing the longest movie I can? (or do I make several smaller movies?) and then stack it in RegiStax (or similar)? or is there anything else that will make the image better?

I also seem to struggle on getting accurate focus so any ideas on that would be useful.

That's about it, any replies gratefully accepted.

Thanks

Steve

[StarlightKnight]

Steve

I suggest you try K3CCD either alone or in conjunction with WcCtrl.

K3's Astronomy Home Page

WcCtrl - Description

For Jupiter its best to limit each 'movie' to about 100 seconds to avoid any rotation spoiling the image. Focusing is a key feature and it helps if you use either a Hartman or Bahtinov mask and focus on a bright star. Alternatively adjust focus until Jupiter's moons appear as tiny pinpoints. Experimenting with the different settings is the key to getting a good image but its usually best to keep the Gamma at 0. You also need to make sure you have manual control of the exposure or it will be completely overexposed - a great white blob !!! - OK for focussing but not imaging.

Just experiment with different settings for exposure and gain but keep a note of your settings - either by hand, using the log files or WCctrl save function or just by taking screen shots.

10fps is usually a good starting point.

Hope this helps

Don

[pete_l]

I've had good success with wxastrocapture. You can use it with ordinary webcams as well as long-exposure modified ones. That will grab the video from the webcam to a movie file in AVI format. After that you'll need a stacker program, such as Registax to extract the individual frames from the movie and do the processing you need.

So far as focussing goes, I'd recommend focussing on a star, rather than the planet. In wxastrocapture get the star centred and use the "zoom" feature to get the (not perfectly focussed) star up to a resonably sized disc. Then carefully adjust your focusser to minimise the disc's size.

After that, move back to Jupiter and set the webcam's exposure to manual, then change the webcam's exposure settings so you can see detail in the image. The histogram feature in wxastrocapture is helpful here, as it will show when the image is over or under exposed - you're aiming for a nice wide histogram, centred around the middle of the range.

Good luck.

[xboxdevil]

Thank you very much for the replies, that's very helpful. Last weekend I did have a quick go with Sharcap & Registax, poor focus and gain set to zero gave me a very washed out image with little detail.

I'll download all the programs that you've suggested and give them a try too, hopefully I'll be able to get a decent picture before Jupiter is too far away.

Thanks again

Steve

Here is my first poor attempt - it can only get better!!

[StarlightKnight]

I hope you don't mind but I had a little play with the image in Registax using the wavelet filters.

There is more detail than you may have thought.

Not so poor after all

Don

[xboxdevil]

I'm impressed that you can tease that out of a 7k image, now if only you had the original 1.3 gig file :-) I had a play with the wavelets, but couldn't get anything, is there a method or a best way to do this?

[Space Cowboy]

Lots of tutorials and info on here:

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-tips-tricks-techniques/115493-embarrassing-jupiters-webcam-clinic.html

Don't worry about rotational blur unless your using massive focal length i.e 10 metres.....3-4 mins avi footage should be ideal.

I've just purchased the Flextube 250 auto so will be using a very similar setup to you

[StarlightKnight]

Stuart

In wavelets if you right click on each of the preview buttons in turn it shows you how it will alter the image with the harshness or bluntness increasing from button 1 to 6. It is usually best to only use 2 or 3 adjacent sliders for the desired adjustment but just experiment by pulling the sliders to the right - sometimes quite aggresively to start with to see what happens. If you also select different combinations of the buttons Default, Gaussian, Dyadic & Linear you will see that some combinations are also more aggressive than others. The most aggressive is the Gaussian Dyadic combination which is what I used on your image. It is too easy to spoil the image, however, so if you had a really detailed image it would probably be best not to use that combination.

Hope this helps

Don

[sengoksa]

I like craterlet very easy to use.. nicely laid out give it a go and see.