By: Sam Pitts (samsastro.com)
Images of Planets-Solar System
Image of Saturn Taken with Celestron C14 at f/27 with ZWO ASI120MC camera. FeatherTouch focuser and Starizona MicroTouch Autofocuser. Taken near Anza, California at 4200′. Several imaging runs averaging 1.2 GB of data then processed & graded. Best images used in final processing. Thousands of frames stacked using AutoStakkkert, RegiStax6 & Photoshop 6.
Image of Jupiter taken with a Celestron C14 at f/27
Image of Jupiter Taken with Celestron C14 at f/27 with ZWO ASI120MC camera. FeatherTouch focuser and Starizona MicroTouch Autofocuser. Taken near Anza, California at 4200′. Several imaging runs averaging 1.2 GB of data then processed & graded. Best images used in final processing. Thousands of frames stacked using AutoStakkkert, RegiStax6 & Photoshop 6.
I Mars Images 09/05/2005,captured using A Phillips ToUcam. The imaging platform consisted of a Celestron 11″ Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope and Losmandy G11 mount. The fourteen avi files (video clips) of Mars were finally captured after several hours of work. Registax was used to process the video avi files. Registax is able to select the best frames and because of this a sharper image of Mars is possible. The processing in Registax vastly increases the signal to noise level so sharper images are possible. This was my 1st attempt to image Mars with a Webcam. It is amazing how stacking images compensated for Earth’s turbulent atmosphere.
The Mars Images 09/05/2005, were taken from a Dark Site called “Eagles Rest”, South of Dexter, Or.; 2557′.
Mars orbits our Sun in 687 earth days at an average distance of 142 million miles. a day on mars lasts 24 hours 37 minutes. This fourth planet from the Sun has a diameter of only 4,220 miles thus having .375 the gravity of Earth. Mars more distant than Earth from the Sun because of this, it’s average surface temperature is -81 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mars offer the possibility of colonization, therefore NASA is vigorously exploring Mars.
Saturn video taken with a Phillips ToUcam through a Celestron 11″ SCT at f/25 on a Losmandy G11 mount. Dark Sky site South of Dexter, Oregon with 6+ magnitude skies at 2512′. Over 7000 frames processed in Registax, final image 413 frames. This was my 1st attempt at imaging Saturn with a Web Camera.
This image of Jupiter is the result of stacking images from an avi file. The video was captured with a Phillips ToUcam through a Celestron 11″ SCT. The focal length was increased with a TeleVue 2.5x Barlow to yield a focal length of F/25 6985mm. A Losmandy G11 Equatorial mount was used to support the Telescope and equipment.