Imaging conditions were better than the rest of the summer. No wind, no dew, either. Just a calm night with pretty good seeing which has slightly deteriorated by the end of the session. Telescope was perfectly cooled down to ambient temperature after sitting out in the open for three hours. Precise polar alignment allowed recording with minimal view adjustment. Laser collimation and atmospheric dispersion corrector yielded sharp image.
I did three RGB sessions and one without any filter, all as Saturn was crossing the celestial meridian. Only RGB data was used to make derotated color images which were then derotated into final image. There's also a long exposure which managed to capture Hyperion. Lucky imaging managed to reveal Tethys. I've digitally enlarged final image by 150 %.
(In the long exposure image, I've combined the slightly earlier lucky imaging result where Tethys is slightly over the ring. At the particular time when long exposure was made, Tethys was slightly over the ring.)
There is a slight, but noticeable greenish banding below the equator and orange above it, something my eyes saw as darker bands which would get more prominent through #23A and #56 filters. Didymium filter allowed for slightly better visual resolving of other bands.
After nearly a whole year of disappointment with very bad weather conditions, somehow this opposition coincided with relatively nice conditions.
Attached Thumbnails
Edited by lajoswinkler, 08 September 2024 - 05:12 AM.
