1092 replies to this topic

[dev81]

9" Mars under quite a good seeing & 120mm achro refractor.. 

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[johrich]

This is an image of Mars from Jan 25, 2025 with an ASI676MC camera and SvBony MK105 Maksutov.  This image was a composed stack of 3900 frames at 29ms.  In the past I have used my Mead LX65 6in Mak with good results, but I was looking for a small Mak to mount on top of my DSO refractor during planet season.  Had planned on getting the Skywatcher Skymax 102, but was cruising through Amazon and succumbed to a sale on the little SvBony Mak.  I knew it had gotten some bad reviews but just wanted something to play with.  So far, I have been pretty happy with the results for such a small Maksutov.

 

John

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[Craigar]

This is an image of Mars from Jan 25, 2025 with an ASI676MC camera and SvBony MK105 Maksutov.  ..

..succumbed to a sale on the little SvBony Mak.  I knew it had gotten some bad reviews but just wanted something to play with.  So far, I have been pretty happy with the results for such a small Maksutov.

 

John

Very Nice!  rather amazing for 4" imho ...I thought Mars was too far away for 6" but now I think different - you must have had some real good seeing!

[dev81]

One more attempt, taken 2 days ago. Seeing was quite good, also Syrtis Major crossed cetnal meridian and was clearly visible on videos.

The same gear, 120mm achro refractor, 1000mm focal length, barlow 2x.

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Edited by dev81, 01 April 2025 - 05:37 AM.

[Craigar]

I'm in West Palm Bch FL now and have really good seeing, and I could see Mars way way out there so I tried, ..

 

 

C6 2x barlow imx485

Edited by Craigar, 17 April 2025 - 05:46 AM.

[Craigar]

Here's 6 minutes earlier 2025-04-17 0333utc

 

 

it was already about 30 degrees past meridian and showing "prismatic" AD, so  I had Registax RGB align and it helped ... and I was shooting in the backyard of this townhouse with too many palm trees and there is an opening right above THE AIR CONDITIONER and when it kicks on even though my incoming photon trajectory is about 15 feet above it it wrecks the seeing - but after it turns off about 1/4 the incoming frames look good..

 

I might try again tonight earlier but I got some nasty head cold bronchial virus on day 3 and feeling a little better

Edited by Craigar, 17 April 2025 - 04:50 PM.

[Craigar]

This is an image of Mars from Jan 25, 2025 with an ASI676MC camera and SvBony MK105 Maksutov.  This image was a composed stack of 3900 frames at 29ms.  In the past I have used my Mead LX65 6in Mak with good results, but I was looking for a small Mak to mount on top of my DSO refractor during planet season.  Had planned on getting the Skywatcher Skymax 102, but was cruising through Amazon and succumbed to a sale on the little SvBony Mak.  I knew it had gotten some bad reviews but just wanted something to play with.  So far, I have been pretty happy with the results for such a small Maksutov.

 

John

Very nice image (like I said earlier) !!  You must have had some REALLY good seeing, congrats! We will do better with shorter exposure=  luckier frames, like 2~3ms and crank up the gain - after its stacked all the gain noise disappears and we end up with many many more "frozen" lucky frames than if we we use slower exposures

 

The more suggestions I follow in this guide the better I do, that's where I learned about these really short exposures

https://www.cloudyni...d-january-2025/

Edited by Craigar, 17 April 2025 - 05:07 PM.

[johrich]

Very nice image (like I said earlier) !!  You must have had some REALLY good seeing, congrats! We will do better with shorter exposure=  luckier frames, like 2~3ms and crank up the gain - after its stacked all the gain noise disappears and we end up with many many more "frozen" lucky frames than if we we use slower exposures

 

The more suggestions I follow in this guide the better I do, that's where I learned about these really short exposures

https://www.cloudyni...d-january-2025/

Thank you! I will check out your reference!  My seeing is often not that good, and I was probably lucky that night.

 

CS

 

John

[Bob Campbell]

Here's 6 minutes earlier 2025-04-17 0333utc

 

23_33_31_pipp_lapl3_ap4-RxG-Crop2.png

 

it was already about 30 degrees past meridian and showing "prismatic" AD, so  I had Registax RGB align and it helped ... and I was shooting in the backyard of this townhouse with too many palm trees and there is an opening right above THE AIR CONDITIONER and when it kicks on even though my incoming photon trajectory is about 15 feet above it it wrecks the seeing - but after it turns off about 1/4 the incoming frames look good..

 

I might try again tonight earlier but I got some nasty head cold bronchial virus on day 3 and feeling a little better

hope you get well soon. Nice image, looks as though you are picking up some of Mars' phases. From Stellarium, it looks  like about 85% (actually 90%)

 

Bob

Edited by Bob Campbell, 17 April 2025 - 06:48 PM.

[Craigar]

2025-04-18 0340utc

 

 

 

Pulled my camera out about 1/2" further from the barlows lens (may have had it to close yesterday), so probably oversamping but I was at about 1.7ms frames with 40hcg, somehow I got notably better contrast and the cap was pretty easy to color balance to white. I also got about more 5 really good ones (from 6 min. vids) and should derotate (into one rendered image) for more definition, I may when I get feeling better

 

Good seeing clear skies, some wind and air conditioner heat waves

C6 SCT F/10 1500mm FL
2x "shorty" barlow
QHYiii 485C 2.9um
iOptron GEM28 mount

 

Sharpcap acquisition
Processing: PiPP + AutoStakkert4 + registax6

Edited by Craigar, 18 April 2025 - 05:06 AM.

[Craigar]

Seems like I'm all alone in my 6" imaging micro Mars endeavor..? yea I'm probably nutz, but being here in Florida right now the seeing is so good it deserves planetary imaging! I actually bought a C9.25 back in L.A. ,  about a month ago mostly to get some good ones of Mars before it was gone and got some good stuff out of it so far -- all from my B9 backyard in Lawndale, CA

 

Album: C 9.25

19 images

0 comments

 

  I have been working on the whale 2 nights (with the C6) since I was here and got a pretty good "data starved" rendition so far.. but to do it half decent I gotta shclep it all about 1/2 mile down the road to get bortle 5!!!  way better than B9 in my backyard in Lawndale, CA

Edited by Craigar, 18 April 2025 - 04:15 PM.

[Foc]

Seems like I'm all alone in my 6" imaging micro Mars endeavor..? yea I'm probably nutz, but being here in Florida right now the seeing is so good it deserves planetary imaging! I actually bought a C9.25 back in L.A. ,  about a month ago mostly to get some good ones of Mars before it was gone and got some good stuff out of it so far -- all from my B9 backyard in Lawndale, CA

 

 

 

  I have been working on the whale 2 nights (with the C6) since I was here and got a pretty good "data starved" rendition so far.. but to do it half decent I gotta shclep it all about 1/2 mile down the road to get bortle 5!!!  way better than B9 in my backyard in Lawndale, CA

Well. your April Mars images have been nicely detailed and processed so why stop now?

[Craigar]

Very nice image (like I said earlier) !!  You must have had some REALLY good seeing, congrats! We will do better with shorter exposure=  luckier frames, like 2~3ms and crank up the gain - after its stacked all the gain noise disappears and we end up with many many more "frozen" lucky frames than if we we use slower exposures

I meant to say "and we end up with many many more "frozen" lucky frames, than what we had when using longer exposures"
 

Edited by Craigar, 20 April 2025 - 02:16 AM.

[Winteria]

Mars yesterday displaying decently discernable detail despite disturbed atmosphere. 

 

[Craigar]

2025-04-18-0328utc WinJuPos derotation stack of 5 frames

 

 

from same session as this one frame, which is probably the best of the bunch

 

2025-04-18 0340utc

 

Pulled my camera out about 1/2" further from the barlows lens (may have had it to close yesterday), so probably oversamping but I was at about 1.7ms frames with 40hcg, somehow I got notably better contrast and the cap was pretty easy to color balance to white.

 

Good seeing clear skies, some wind and air conditioner heat waves

C6 SCT F/10 1500mm FL
2x "shorty" barlow
QHYiii 485C 2.9um
iOptron GEM28 mount

 

Sharpcap acquisition
Processing: PiPP + AutoStakkert4 + registax6

Edited by Craigar, 24 April 2025 - 03:10 AM.

[KiwiRay]

Nice work on a tiny subject, Winteria and Craigar. Your images are both recognisable as showing the Elysium Mons face of Mars.

[Craigar]

Thank you for the kind comment! 

 

Gratefully it's going to get closer again in the not so distant future, it will be the same size with potentially good views in the northern hemisphere on 11/10/2026 and will be getting closer until 02/18/2027 with an angular diameter (arcsec) of 13.8.  The last time we saw it that close was about 7 weeks ago 01/30/2025  ... patience patience patience  

 

https://skyandtelesc...filer/mars.html

[Bob Campbell]

Thank you for the kind comment! 

 

Gratefully it's going to get closer again in the not so distant future, it will be the same size with potentially good views in the northern hemisphere on 11/10/2026 and will be getting closer until 02/18/2027 with an angular diameter (arcsec) of 13.8.  The last time we saw it that close was about 7 weeks ago 01/30/2025  ... patience patience patience

 

https://skyandtelesc...filer/mars.html

and for us old guys, we need to hang on. Each new year is a blessing

 

Bob