Mars before, during and after opposition
Keith Johnson, Ferryhill, County Durham, 31 August–30 October 2020
Keith says: “I was so lucky to capture so much Mars data. Having an observatory really helps, as I could quickly slew to the planet to assess the seeing conditions. The weather was not good and the jet stream over the UK has been having a terrible effect, but with sheer determination I still managed to capture something worthwhile.”
Equipment: ZWO ASI 290MM mono camera, Celestron 9.25-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain scope, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount Exposure:
R 11.0ms, gain 199, G 12.7ms, gain 251, B 21.3ms, gain 223 Software: PIPP, AutoStakkert!, RegiStax, Photoshop, GIMP
Keith’s top tips: “For planetary imaging,
I’d recommend: 1) a dedicated USB 3.0 high frame rate colour camera with a small sensor, 2) a large aperture f/10 telescope (Schmidt-Cassegrains are popular but will need a suitable mount; check its collimation prior to each imaging session), 3) if visible, our Moon is ideal for focusing, for assessing the seeing conditions and planning imaging sessions around
good jet stream forecasts.”
Shawn says: “COVID-19 has afforded many of us more time to spend on learning something new – in my case, new techniques in PixInsight for reprocessing this data from 2016. I was able to really improve the colours and increase the depth.”
Equipment: SBIG STL-11000M camera, Takahashi FSQ-106ED refractor, Paramount ME EQ mount Exposure: Ha 12x 5’, OIII 12x 5’, SII 12x 5’ Software: PixInsight