18 replies to this topic

[Kokatha man]

Just on 6 months ago (end of April) I belatedly posted our image composition of 2011-2023 Saturns - and I've held off posting the latest compendium hoping to get a very nice 2024 Saturn image...

 

This has been a wretched year in the Southern Hemisphere at 35°S, not because the Ringed Planet is as low as others but because of the lousy weather we have experienced. I have to confess also that one of the major reasons anyone obtains reasonable numbers of successful outcomes is by being out there and taking every half-chance...but unfortunately with advancing age   we cannot continue at our previous frequency and it has quite often been the case that a clear sky has been available, even though we did not set up due to forecasts - c'est la vie!

 

I've eventually settled on this image from June to bring this image set up to date, probably a good choice as the rings were a little more edge on for us than they have been lately, adding a touch more drama to the sequence...

 

As an aside, this sequence is not a complete coverage of our Saturn images but does mark all those we have captured since acquiring the C14: we began several years earlier starting with an achromatic refractor and Phillips Toucam using a program called Vlounge, then followed by the C11 and an Imaging Source camera and their software IC capture before graduating to a Flea3 and very early FireCapture. None of these images are included although a couple from 2009/10 would've made the cut - if they hadn't been lost!   

 

Anyway, here is the 2011-2024 set - I have utilised the maximum 1600 x 1200 image size on CN in glorious panoramic, full jpeg quality at 495kb ...  - you will need to click on this thumbnail and depending upon your viewing screen's size, might be best seen in "slide show" mode: I'll make the relevant addition to the animated sequence and although it might wind up here as another gif because of file-size restrictions (it shouldn't matter for Saturn anyway) I'll put together an animated png for our website, which Pattie has been fixing after a few hiccups there recently.

 

 

EDIT: Apologies, some noise in a couple of images where I used the wrong psd file as well as noticing that the overall levels needed a slight adjustment!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Kokatha man, 31 October 2024 - 04:52 AM.

[Lacaille]

Brilliant!

I’ve just come in from another wretched evening of seeing with poor Saturnian outcomes and this is a reminder of what is possible, if not attainable!

[bunyon]

That's a lovely set. A feature I like about it is you can sort of gauge how close to opposition the planet was when you made the image based on ring brightness. 

 

Another feature that appeals to me is that the first image, with the Dragon storm (that's the name I remember) is how Saturn looked when I first slid a video camera into an eyepiece barrel. I remember thinking, cool! Saturn is as active as Jupiter! Alas. 

 

Hope you get some steady air for Jupiter and Mars this year. 

[Space Cowboy]

Glorious collection of work Darryl! Something to be very proud of 👍

[Quaternion]

Wow. Congrats on a life's work there.

[Refractor6]

 Great collection of Saturn images.......

[KMH]

That's really terrific - quite an achievement!

 

Kevin

[Kokatha man]

Thanks for the comments and "Likes" from people - much appreciated!

 

Not quite a "life's work" Q but I know what you mean...14 images and years from nearly 20 years imaging planets is a big chunk of one's time, even if there are plenty of other things I fill my life with!

 

Still trying to locate psd file of the animated sequence of images I spoke of above...I know where they should be but when I had a new desktop installed about a year ago some things seemed to go AWOL even if it was entirely my own fault!  

 

Hopefully I can dig it up although in the 2011-2023 thread I mentioned above that I posted at the end of April this year, I had not included an animation...so maybe I need to dig further back to get a file...

[Quopaz]

Great set there, it's not only the number that's amazing but
also the quality too- and the details and storms especially on
some of the earlier ones.
I've only been imaging Saturn since 2020, which would be the last 5 there
and about the only interesting thing I've captured was that Iapetus shadow
a couple of years ago. Would be nice to see some of those storms develop
again soon.

[bk42]

Lovely work, these kinds of compilations are inspiring. Thank you for sharing! On a side note, I missed the maximum tilt years... really looking forward to those

[Borodog]

Magnificent.

[Kokatha man]

Thanks once again fellas - and for the "Likes'"

 

and the details and storms especially on
some of the earlier ones.

It's true that Saturn has become a lot quieter lately Nick...but if you look closely you will notice a prominent white storm spot in a few of the later images towards the bottom of the Saturn "conga" line!

[Spacedude4040]

Amazing collection and nice layout!

Mike

[Kokatha man]

Thank you Mike - and for the extra "Likes" posted.

[astrolexi]

Incredible compilation! 

Thank you!

Best wishes

Klaus

[BKBrown]

That is a terrific graphic portrayal of the ring progression over the years! I have a particular fondness for that very vivid storm image from 2011...

 

Clear Skies,

Brian 

[Kokatha man]

Thank you Klaus & Brian, appreciated! Thank you to those who posted additional "Likes" also!

[Baron]

A wonderful work Darryl!

Thanks

[Kokatha man]

Thanks Paolo - and for additional "Likes."