My humble first take of Saturn...

[Jonarsh]

Hi guys,

here is my first take at Saturn, I was very happy when I saw it for the first time! My friends did not believe it and said that it was a 'sticker' stuck inside my scope when they first saw it haha!

A bit grainy thou...pls give some advice!

* Jonarsh *

Updated the picture!

[cloud_cover]

Nice! Much better than my first shot!
Just to ask: Is this done with a single shot or a series of video images stacked together? (Its sort of convention to list the 'scope, camera and exposure when posting a pic )

[Gary]

Nice attempt! Cassini division can be clearly seen and some bands on Saturn. 2 more weeks to Saturn Opposition! Keep shooting!

[Jonarsh]

Opps... sorry cloud cover! hehe...

I actually used my Celestron Omni XLT + my 7D + 2.5 x Televue Powermate barlow. I used Google Sky map to search identify the planets. As I know nuts about drift alignment, I used the "anyhow hamtum" method to search and adjust till i get what I want..

Afterwhich I take many still shots and stack them up in Lynkeos software, and them further adjust them in Photoshop till I can get a decent picture...

By the way, any pointers (very simple one....if there is) on how to do drift alignment for a dummy like me will be very much appreciated....

* Jonarsh *

[Jonarsh]

Sorry Gary... noob question again!

1) What's a Cassini division??

2) What does Saturn opposition mean..??

Thanks!!!

* Jonarsh *

[Gary]

Sorry Gary... noob question again!

1) What's a Cassini division??

2) What does Saturn opposition mean..??

Thanks!!!

* Jonarsh *

Hi Jonarsh. No question is considered noob is this forum. No single human being knows everything about everything.

(1) Cassini division is the black "line" you see somewhere in the middle of Saturn's ring. Saturn rings have many rings and they are identified as so-and-so gap/division, Rings A, B, C, D. Check out the amazing photos in this wiki page!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Saturn
For imaging Saturn, this Cassini division is one of the best feature to use as focusing guide for imaging Saturn. Make the focus as sharp as possible before you shoot.

(2) Saturn Opposition means Sun, Earth, Saturn forming a straight line with Earth in the middle. This means Saturn is closest to Earth which is the best time to observe and image it. Similarly for other planetary oppositions like the recent Mars Opposition:
http://www.astro.sg/2012/02/mars-opposition-2012.html

You can try to experiment using video CCD method (e.g. with a webcam) to capture the moon and planets. They usually generate better results than a stacking a bunch of still photos. Here's a quick tutorial:
http://www.astro.shoregalaxy.com/webcam_astro.htm

This is a nice movie on how to do drift alignment:
http://www.andysshotglass.com/DriftAlignment.html

[Jonarsh]

Thanks a lot Gary! This is going to help...

[cataclysm]

Nice work! Keep it up!

[shirox]

you'll need more ground practice for drift allignment. The videos might seem easy but trust me once you don't it a few times. Its really easy!!!!

[Airconvent]

Nice image..glad to see Saturn's rings are coming back nicely!