Family portrait: The Moon, Uranus, Jupiter & the kids...

[orionrider]

Celebrating the change of season and the night of the Moon with a very special family portrait, as one could see through binoculars, but without the glare

Uranus is the blueish dot above and slightly to the left of Jupiter.
Surrounding Jupiter, from left to right: Ganymede, Io, Callisto and Europe.
This is a composite of more than 150 images (22 Sept. 2010) at different focal lengths and different exposure times. All from a Nikon D70s on EQ2 mount. Processing done in Registax and Photoshop. All objects are to-scale.



Click on the thumbnail to see the image (650Kb).
Be sure to click the magnifier for 'full size' or 'original size' to see all the details :idea:

Enjoy!

 

[EarthlingX]

Very pretty, thanks

 

[EarthlingX]

SDC : Amazing Views of Jupiter and Uranus Thrill Skywatchers

By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Managing Editor
posted: 23 September 2010
09:54 am ET



The rare cosmic triple play of Jupiter, Uranus and the full moon this week is dazzling amateur astronomers with a bright night sky show.

"I never grow tired of viewing the planets," skywatcher Jimmy Eubanks told SPACE.com, adding that Jupiter is a longtime favorite. He photographed Jupiter and Uranus from his front lawn in Boiling Springs, S.C., on Monday (Sept. 20) during Jupiter's closest approach. [See Eubanks' view of Jupiter and Uranus]

Jupiter, Uranus and the nearly full Harvest Moon met in a rare cosmic lineup late yesterday (Sept. 22), just two days after Jupiter made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 50 years. Wednesday night's sky show also occurred on the equinox, marking the official start of the fall season in Earth's Northern Hemisphere, and spring in the south.

...

 

[orionrider]

Thanks EearthlingX

When I see these nice pictures I dream of a larger scope, a CCD camera with cooling, a decent laptop for processing, clear skies, no turbulence and a job for which I don't have to wake up at 5:30am...

 

[EarthlingX]

Thanks EearthlingX

When I see these nice pictures I dream of a larger scope, a CCD camera with cooling, a decent laptop for processing, clear skies, no turbulence and a job for which I don't have to wake up at 5:30am...

To be honest, i just skimmed over those pictures, but i downloaded yours. I think you have to find an area, where your gear excels, and then look for images that speak to you.
Your image talks to me, which is not very objective, but think of it as a kind of scientific art, as i do. It is also inspiring, because it shows, that one can do a lot with a little money and a lot of passion. Most impressive

I dropped that article here, because it helps astronomically challenged folx like me, to get a bit of idea, what the fuss is all about (Thanks Tariq )

These days i'm almost every non-cloudy evening out, staring at that bright dot on the east horizon, if just for a couple of minutes, with the very shaky 10x25 binoculars, and extremely crappy phone camera. I actually have a photo where Jupiter can be seen, but would really prefer not to discuss it. :roll:

 

[adrenalynn]

Outstanding Jupiter image! What kind of focal length and exposure times were you using for such planetary detail?

Seems kinda silly - I can push a 5" scope photographically to the very edge of its resolution, capturing Mag 14 transients, but I can't take a deep planetary photo to save my life. I'd love to be able to image Jupiter like that!

I have 300, 500, and 800mm lenses for the 20D (modified). The 300 is an f/3.5, the 500 is an f/4.5, and the 800 is an f/5 - and the 20D cooled is good for ISO1600 reasonably.

 

[orionrider]

Thanks Adrenalynn, but you'll have to ask Tariq Malik

As for the very small Jupiter in my 'family portrait', it is in fact a downsize of a picture stack shot at 1800mm focal on my SkyWatcher 130/900. Very modest indeed...
This is the best I can get with the DSLR: http://www.webastro.net/forum/showthread.php?t=69110

If you want to try planetary you really need a CCD webcam and even a small scope can do wonders. Check this image made with just the same telescope, but using a modified SPC900 webcam: http://www.webastro.net/forum/showthread.php?t=69097

The amount of detail is amazing for a $160 mirror scope!
I think his barlow and IR-cut filter are worth more than the scope

Edit: example of a cheap CCD designed for planetary: http://www.m42optic.fr/pro/catalog/prod ... cts_id=733
Black/white sensor + RGB filters would be better, but much more expensive.

 

[adrenalynn]

I was talking about yours dummy! I couldn't care less about his. I know how to make those images. You just shove a very large tube full of dollar bills, then clamp a gold-plated-diamond-encrusted-unobtanium brick on the back. Voila! Easy.

No - it was your image that was intriguing, not his.

 

[orionrider]

I was talking about yours dummy!

:shock: :?

Well, thank you Adrenalynn.
Coming from a lady and an expert in imaging techniques, I take it as a great compliment

And you're absolutely right about planetary pictures and the unobtanium. Good CCD cameras cost more than He-3.

 

[adrenalynn]

You definitely drive that little scope, that's for sure! And an unmodded DSLR to-boot!

And I did misspeak above - it's "cram a very large tube full of _hundred_ dollar bills". Mea Culpa.