Simcoe Skies Astronomy

Saturn - The Ringed Wonder

	May 24/09 Image - rings close to minimum Camera: ToUcam Pro II - RAW mode, long exposures not enabled Exposures: Not recorded at processing time Exposure length: 1/33 sec Framerate: 10fps Brightness: 65 Gain: 68 Gamma: 52 Camera Color: R39/B16 K3CCDtools L-meter: 84 of 255 Filters: IR filter Optical magnification: 1000x with 5x TeleVue, resized to 50% in Photoshop (500x effective) Notes: This shot was taken too close to rooftops, so seeing was poor, but it's the only shot I acquired during this opposition.
	March 29, 2007 Exposures: 596 of 1697 Exposure length: 1/25 sec Framerate: 5fps Amp on setting: on Brightness: 50 Gain: 50 Gamma: 50 Camera Color: R34/B16 K3CCDtools L-meter: 157 Filters: IR filter Optical magnification: 1000x with 5x TeleVue Sizing: upper image reduced to 50% size in Photoshop (total magnification 500x, 1000x) Notes: Probably my best shot yet. The Cassini division is better defined, and the planet is closer (larger) than in previous shots. Interesting to note the amount of the planet that's visible under the rings now, as opposed to 2005 images where the tilt was more pronounced.
	May 8, 2006 Magnitude: 0.8 Location: varies - Cancer at time of image Date: May 8/06 Exposures: 709 of 4000 Exposure length: 1/50 sec Framerate: 10fps Amp on setting: on Brightness: 64 Gain: 65 Gamma: 52 Camera Color: R39/B16 K3CCDtools L-meter: 107 Filters: IR filter Optical magnification: 1000x with 5x TeleVue Sizing: upper image reduced to 1/2 size in Photoshop (total magnification 500x, 1000x) Notes: Finally, a night of 4/5 seeing. This one paid off. The lower image is the original size one.
	April 2006 Magnitude: 0.8 Location: varies - Cancer at time of image Date: Apr 19/06 Exposures: 800 Exposure length: 1/50 sec Amp on setting: on Brightness: 83 Gain: 57 Gamma: 52 Optical magnification: 1000x with 5x TeleVue Sizing: upper image reduced to 1/2 size in Photoshop (total magnification 500x, 1000x) Notes: Camera exposure and gain were set to result in an image with peak brightness of about 100 on the K3CCD histogram. I had to filter out some power supply noise from the results, and I had a feeling that I was imaging too close to the house (Saturn was not far above the roof, so I was likely picking up heat waves). Filtering done with NeatImage, color adjustment in Photoshop. The lower image is the original size one. Scroll down for more images
	April 2005 First image of 2005 season Magnitude: 0.1 Location: varies - Gemini at time of image Date: Apr 9/05 Exposures: 402 Exposure length: not recorded (short) Amp on setting: n/a Brightness: not recorded Gain: not recorded Optical magnification: 400x, F/8 using 2x Barlow Sizing: lower image resized 2x (total magnification 400x and 800x) Notes: Camera exposure and gain were set to result in an image with peak brightness of about 90 on the K3CCD histogram, and gamma was set to 0 for imaging. This is a much better result than last year's Saturn, mostly due to proper exposure! The middle image is reprocessed with only 99 frames that better show the Cassini Division, the black gap between the main rings. Fewer frames resulted in a slight increase in noise (grainy image). The lower image was the sum of 263 frames, resized 2x in K3CCDtools. Some clarity was sacrificed in resizing. Scroll down for more images
	October 2004 first attempt Arguably the most beautiful of our planetary neighbors. Magnitude: 0.2 Location: varies - Gemini at time of image Date: Oct 1/04 Exposures: 319 Exposure length: not recorded (short) Amp on setting: n/a Brightness: not recorded Gain: not recorded Optical magnification: 200x, F/4 Sizing: x2 in K3CCDtools (total magnification 400x) Notes: First try at Saturn. Not bad, considering seeing conditions were poor. Lower image is after processing 80 frames instead of 319, for which brightness is high but definition is better. Scroll down for more images