Jupiter

ThatDrGuy

Hi,
Here is my Jupiter attempt from my tiny 4inch celestron:


I cant seem to get any image at all when I use a barlow. Is this because the image isnt bright enough or is something else wrong ? I use a Nexstar 4se with nextimage.

peterako

You may just not be in focus (range) with the barlow.

Try to get Jupiter centred in teh camera without the barlow.

Then put the Barlow in. Change the camera exposure settings to Auto.

You may see light from an unfocused Jupiter somewhere then you can centre on this and focus.

If you don't see light try focussing in/out till you do.

Depending on you focusser Jupter may not be centred when teh barlow goes in.

Keep at it! It'll be worth it!

peterako

Very, very quick capture of Jupiter, Ganymede and Io last night.

Spent the next hour or so exploring the sky with my middle child after this



Clear skies,
Peter

djhaxman

Good work Peter. What scope are you using again?

Megastar

I've been enjoying Jupiter here, via binoculars and telescope (ETX70). Some very very clear nights and looks like another one tonight.

I tried to photograph it through my telescope but came up against a problem. With a webcam screwed into an eyepiece (no Barlow) the planet is showing up very large and very bright. With all the brightness and contrast settings adjusted it's still a big white blob, although I'm getting the moons more or less sharp and focussed.

Any tips for me as to how to get a usable image to record?

peterako

Thanks djhaxman:

Orion Optics F4 200 (8" ish) Newtonian on an old Celstron CG5 Mount with RA motor for tracking. Definitely not a highend boutique scope, but very functional.

The optics in the scope are great!
The scope looks very cheap....but hey....in the dark..

I also have a Celestron G8N sitting in the corner (another 8" Newt) that gave me good service prior to the Orion Optics one. Must find a home for it.

Megastar:

Sounds like the gain is set too high and/or the shutter speed is too high(?).

Jupiter is BRIGHT, so you don't need too much gain (i use teh lowest setting) or shutter speed.

Play with these settings and see what you get.

Without the Barlow Jupiter will seem even brighter....

Clear skies,
Peter

calabi yau

Didnt want to be left out: taken with my Sony Ericsson Phone and my 8" manual DOB

ceejay

Joining the party


jupiter-2011-11-06 by Ciaran Walsh, on Flickr

Grabbed this using my Celestron NexStar 4SE and the NexImage CCD, and processed it with RegiStax 5.1.

Looking at it with the naked eye with the standard eyepiece was pretty cool too - you could make out the cloud bands and the 4 main satellites. Later in the night I'm pretty sure I could see one of the moons transiting Jupiter - but maybe I was kidding myself

I'm hoping to get some more eyepieces for Chrismas and be able to see it "up close"

stoneill

Nice clear night tonight -
Get the telescopes out!
Can anyone there with the correct equipment manage to get a pic of the Moon and Jupiter together?

Plug

You would need roughly a 40mm eye piece but they have to be really close together.

Kencollins

I went for a look at Jupiter in the garden last night at about 11pm. Had a pair of Lidl binos with my (12x30 ish) and i could make out two of the moons! One seemed very close to the planet, the other one was about 4 times that distance.
I was amased I could see them with such a cheap (11 euro) pair of binos, got a nice surprise!

Cant wait to get a scope and do some proper observations.

Cú Giobach

Kencollins wrote: »

I went for a look at Jupiter in the garden last night at about 11pm. Had a pair of Lidl binos with my (12x30 ish) and i could make out two of the moons! One seemed very close to the planet, the other one was about 4 times that distance.
I was amased I could see them with such a cheap (11 euro) pair of binos, got a nice surprise!

If Jupiter wasn't so bright you would see them easily with the naked eye.
If someone has excellent eyesight it could also be possible to see Ganymede or Callisto with the naked eye anyway, and by blocking Jupiter it could be possible for those without the eyes of a hawk to see them. Here is an interesting article on it.

There's a pole outside my house with a thin metal hoop on it that would be perfect for occulting annoying planets, so having thought of it I'll now be trying to catch one without optical aid.
Has anyone out there done this before?

Edit: Actually I'm gonna start a thread on this.

Plug

Kencollins wrote: »

I went for a look at Jupiter in the garden last night at about 11pm. Had a pair of Lidl binos with my (12x30 ish) and i could make out two of the moons! One seemed very close to the planet, the other one was about 4 times that distance.
I was amased I could see them with such a cheap (11 euro) pair of binos, got a nice surprise!

Cant wait to get a scope and do some proper observations.

Hopefully Saturday will be clear so. Usually the thing is, when you buy a telescope it is usually cloudy for for 3 weeks:p

ednwireland

cracking views tonight but high cloud started rolling in, makes a change clear skies and not having to wrap up.

peterako

Just got a chance to process some captures from 6th November:



Have some captures from the 5th....but could not stay awake long enough to capture Io's transit

Clear skies,
Peter

MiNdGaM3

Here's a different perspective on Jupiter, in conjunction with the moon.

peterako

Excellent MiNdGaM3!!

Kencollins

Hi all!

The clouds lifted here in Limerick for an hour, and Igot to try out my new scope! Jupiter was AMAZING!

The scope is a 5", 650 focal length newtonian, using a 10mm kelner and a barlow lens.

I could make out two of the "bands" on jupiter, two darker circles on the lower band, and lots of detail in between! It really is amazing, I wasn't expecting that kind of detail at all.

I thought there was something wrong with the scope at first, as one of the moons had a ghost image right next to it, turns out it was actually two of the moons quite close to each other! (Thanks stellarium!)

Unfortunatly it clouded over again before I could find the Orion Nebula...

One thing that was a bit strange was an optical effect around jupiter. When it was perfectly in focus, there was a "cross-hair" type effect, with 4 lines radiating out quite a bit. I'd liken it to looking at a street light through squinted eyes really.

Does anybody have any idea what would cause this? Could it have been the viweing conditions, light pollution (I was in my garden and neighbours had some bedroom lights on, and smoke from fires too!), or is this a feature of kelner lenses?

Im still on a high today, cant wait to get looking again!

Kersh

Some brilliant pictures in this thread, a joy to look at.

peterako

Hi Ken,

Cross hairs are probably due to the brightness of Jupiter and light diffraction from the secondary mirror vanes and/or possibly an optical aberration in some component.

If a optical issue it will more than likely be with one of the eyepieces though 'could' be collimation issues.

Next time you get out:

- Try a star test to see if it's collimation.
Go in and out of focus and see how much the image differs from 'ideal'. You may see dark likes along the vane obstruction. If these correspond to the crosshairs you are seeing then it's probably the vanes + brightness.

- Try and find a bright star like Vega at high magnification and see if you get the same cross hairs.
In an ideal scope, with no scondary mirror vanes, you'll see a dot. But in a Newt with vanes you'll see diffraction spikes. The number of spikes = number of vanes.

PM if you'd like to discuss.

I'm only guessing above. It'll be a matter of trial and error to find out what is causing it.

Delighted to read your first report on Jupiter!! As other's have said "wait till you see Saturn!".

And it's rings will be at a nice orientation next time Saturn is up at a reasonable hour.

I have only mananged to see The Great Nebula in Orion with Binocualrs so far this year. But Orion will be nicel placed reasonably early soon too.

Clear skies,
Peter

Plug

Glad you enjoy the scope Ken, hopefully this bloody weather clears up soon!

peterako

Terrible, terrible observing weather

Have only managed to get a few glipses here and there....

SO....in a moment of boredom a comparison of Jupiter and the GRS this and last year:



Was using a different (8") scope last year...with some optically added colouration that night.

Oh! That's Io peeping out on the RIGHT of the top band of the 6th November shot.

Clear skies (PLEASE),
Peter

Plug

Peter are you using a webcam or a DSLR? I have a Philips webcam and I have not used it yet. I set it up yesterday but it is very blurry. The software is wxAstroCapture. Any pointers?

peterako

Hi Plug,

I'm using a Phlips SPC900NC (probably the same as you) and wxAstroCapture.

Last year I was also using additiona software to control the camera settings....which probably led to the strange colouration.

Seeing conditions, when there have been clear skies, have been very poor recently.

This has meant that you can't really up the magnifiction and get a clear 'picture'. Eg. I was able to get decent captures with a 2.5x barlow but not 3x at the start of month....which was the last time I managed to get captures.

Two days ago I could only use my 10mm eypiece with my 2.5x barlow while viewing Jupiter. Any higher and it was blurry.

Also, the higher in the sky Jupiter is the better/less atmospheric interference.

Not sure if that's your problem without more info.

To get focus on Jupiter I try and get focus on one of the moons, which I find easier than trying to focus on Jupiter.

Can you get focus with the camera on anything?

I tried my camera in daylight first with a few captures to get used to the set-up and processing.

Maybe try and capture The Moon. Features are much bigger and easier to focus on there.

PM if you want to discuss specifics.

Take care,
Peter

Plug

peterako wrote: »

Hi Plug,

I'm using a Phlips SPC900NC (probably the same as you) and wxAstroCapture.

Last year I was also using additiona software to control the camera settings....which probably led to the strange colouration.

Seeing conditions, when there have been clear skies, have been very poor recently.

This has meant that you can't really up the magnifiction and get a clear 'picture'. Eg. I was able to get decent captures with a 2.5x barlow but not 3x at the start of month....which was the last time I managed to get captures.

Two days ago I could only use my 10mm eypiece with my 2.5x barlow while viewing Jupiter. Any higher and it was blurry.

I have found with my F6 scope an 8 inch dob the 10mm is a bit blurry. Now that could be down to the tiny lens I have to look through or it may need collimation. 1200mm is the focal length so divide 10mm into that and it ends up with a 120x magnification. Surely to god it shouldn't be blurry. When I say its blurry its not that bad, I can make out the moons, bands of cloud and the great red spot. It just does not feel as sharp as the last scope I owned(5 inch).

Also, the higher in the sky Jupiter is the better/less atmospheric interference.

Not sure if that's your problem without more info.

To get focus on Jupiter I try and get focus on one of the moons, which I find easier than trying to focus on Jupiter.

Can you get focus with the camera on anything?

I tried my camera in daylight first with a few captures to get used to the set-up and processing.

Maybe try and capture The Moon. Features are much bigger and easier to focus on there.

PM if you want to discuss specifics.

Take care,
Peter

No Peter I didn't actually use it yet for taking pictures, just in the sitting room hooked up to the pc, the film on the screen was very blurry. Im sure Im just doing something wrong with the settings on the software.
cheers.

peterako

Most of my captures were at around the 350 - 375x mark....

Could be collimation, or focus?

Have you ever collimated the scope?

At 120x you won't (or at least my aging eyes won't) see much more than the bands and moons.

On a good night (which I had at the start of the month) you'll see some of the swirling at 375x. Or at least I could.

I still haven't managed to get good/perfect focus for my captures so often the visuals are clearer if smaller.

You got a Goto 8" Dob right?

Try some collimation checks: Astro Baby's (Excellent) Collimation Guide

I'd recommend not doing too much till you've done a star test.

Take care,
Peter

The Prodigy 2

I have never seen it before, does it only come out certain time of the year, day ???? live in dublin, on the coast

Plug

peterako wrote: »

Most of my captures were at around the 350 - 375x mark....

Could be collimation, or focus?

Have you ever collimated the scope?

At 120x you won't (or at least my aging eyes won't) see much more than the bands and moons.

On a good night (which I had at the start of the month) you'll see some of the swirling at 375x. Or at least I could.

I still haven't managed to get good/perfect focus for my captures so often the visuals are clearer if smaller.

You got a Goto 8" Dob right?

Try some collimation checks: Astro Baby's (Excellent) Collimation Guide

I'd recommend not doing too much till you've done a star test.

Take care,
Peter

Ill try that star test before I collimate but surely to god it should be a lot sharper than it is at the moment. I tried a new 8mm eye piece a few minutes ago and whilst it was closer in on Jupiter it was still blurry. Even with a steady hand each way I moved the focuser it just got worse. The best I could manage was still blurry. I have a feeling its the collimation. I might have a go to confirm if thats the problem(hopefully). How far down the eye piece scale are you blurry free to? And yeah its the 8" Dob I have but you see its telescopic and I read they need to be collimated far more often than regular scopes with a fixed OTA. I think a lazor job is the way to go. Thanks for you help.

Plug

The Prodigy 2 wrote: »

I have never seen it before, does it only come out certain time of the year, day ???? live in dublin, on the coast

Look east, south east and you will see it. Its the brightest 'star' in the sky. If you have binoculars you will be able to see the moons of it.

peterako

Jupiter will be visioble till about March next year....then 'dissappear' till about October/November 2012.

Just wild approximations.

BUT, if you download Stellarium Fantastic Free Astronomy Software you'll be able to see exatly where and when Jupiter and much more is. (even satellites )

Clear skies,
Peter