Jupiter Animation from July

I miss seeing comments from Rod Gallagher and Russ Wheeler. I finally managed to process a decent picture of Jupiter. While I’m not sure if Russ is watching the Discourse channel, I would like to say: “Thanks for the RegiStax advice. RegiStax 6 does work!”

Jupiter_230724_0934-53

Shown above is an animated gif generated by Photoshop. You can see a higher fidelity tiff image on my Flickr site:

Jupiter July
by chris varner, on Flickr

Image Information:

Subject: Jupiter
Date: 24 July 2023
Location: Cheddar Ranch Observatory
Time: 0434 CDT (0934 UTC), 0441, & 0450
Camera: ZWO ASI183 MC Pro
Optics: 1625 mm f/8 Ritchy-Chretien & 2.5x Televue Extender
Guiding: Unguided
Image: 3 3-minute AVI Videos
Exposure: 800 ms
Gain: 100
Mount: Atlas EQ-G
Tracking: Siderial Rate

Software:
AutoStakkert 3.0
RegiStax 6
Photoshop 2023

4 Likes

I hope we can get them on the Discourse here soon! I always enjoy their input and content.

Nice images here. There is quite a bit of movement for just a few minutes that occur between each frame. I kind of wish the GIF was sped up a little more, as I just sit here staring intently at the pictures trying to see the movement, haha.

Good work, Chris!

1 Like

Chris,

I’ve just stumbled into this new forum. Glad to see this post. You’ve come a long way. Nicely done animation. I really like the movement of the moons.

Hi Russ,

Glad you found the new forum. I think I have the magnification about right. I’m still struggling with the “finding” problem at almost 3000 mm of focal length. And I think I can improve the collimation and focus with a bit of tweeking. I guess I’ll have to see what the next one brings.

Hi Chris,

Getting the planet on the imaging chip is always a bit of a struggle. If you are not using a flip mirror system, I suggest you try the following.

Visually center the planet in a low power eyepiece. Then, insert a high power eyepiece and center the planet again. After centering in the high power eyepiece field of view, very gently replace the eyepiece with your camera. The planet may not be centered perfectly, but at least it should be in the field of view.

I work at about 4000-5000 mm focal length. Before I switched to a flip mirror, this procedure made the “finding” process less painful.

You’re right. I’m using a 2.5x Televue with a 1625 mm RC – That is a little more than 4000 mm. I think I might have to request a Flip Mirror from Santa Claus. That looks helpful!

Very good job, really like it thanks for posting.

Stan