Saturn, Titan Eclipse, and Tethys: A Planetary Imaging Deep Dive
Capturing the celestial dance of our solar system's giants requires patience, experimentation, and a keen eye for detail. Recently, I embarked on a quest to refine my camera settings for planetary imaging, driven by the unfortunate loss of data from my two best images. This endeavor led me to experiment with various exposures and gains, capturing multiple videos with different durations, particularly focusing on observing the eclipse.
While the results are still not entirely conclusive, the process has been incredibly insightful. A key learning for me has been with WinJUPOS when derotating planets, specifically Saturn. It appears that mixing different exposures and gains doesn't necessarily hinder the process. However, derotating the moon's shadow proved problematic, introducing undesirable artifacts. To overcome this, I opted to replace the moons with those from my most successful individual stacked photo, leaving the shadow as it was captured.
Here's a glimpse into the equipment and methods used for this capture:
Equipment
- Telescope: Meade LX10 8" SCT
- Barlow Lens: 2x Barlow lens
- Filter: UV/IR cut filter
- Camera: ASI585MC Pro
Acquisition
- Software: SharpCap
- Videos Captured: 18
- Individual Video Duration: 1-4 minutes
- Total Acquisition Time: 23 minutes
- Gain Range: 513-544
- Exposure Range: 13.214-16.839ms
Processing
- Stacking: AS!4 (using frames with 50% quality and higher, 1.5x drizzle)
- Color and Detail Enhancement: RS6 (wavelets, RGB balance, and alignment)
- Derotation: WinJUPOS (for derotating the planet)
- Moon Replacement: Snapseed (double exposure overlay to integrate moons from a separate stacked image)
The Result:
This image showcases Saturn, its moon Titan casting a shadow on the planet's rings, and the smaller moon Tethys. The detailed processing, including the manual replacement of the moons for optimal presentation, highlights the dedication involved in achieving such captivating results in planetary astrophotography. The journey of refining settings and techniques is ongoing, but the beauty captured makes it all worthwhile.
