Simcoe Skies Astronomy

Uranus - Going the distance

	Uranus - Oct 2006 Same story, different night Magnitude: 5.7 Size: 3.6" Location: Aquarius Date: Oct 7/06 Exp Details: RAW,A0;B51;GN70;GM23;R34B18;T:0.5S Exposures: 80 of 600 K3 Brightness Level Meter: 130-150. Filters: Skyglow Filter Magnification: 5x TeleVue Notes: Stability was poor, partly due to atmospheric conditions, partly due to the mount's periodic error. This resulted an a large number of throw-away frames. Note that the image still does not appear perfectly round, although I don't know why this is.
	Uranus, Sept 17/05 Further out in the solar system, Uranus is resolved as a bluish-green disk. Date: Sept 17/05 Magnitude: 5.7, 100% illuminated Diameter: 3.6" Distance from Earth: 19.11AU Location: varies - Aquarius at time of image Exposures: 98 Exposure length: not recorded (short), f4.0 Amp on setting: n/a Brightness: not recorded Gain: not recorded - K3CCDtools level indicator: approx. 120 Sizing: Resized x2 in K3CCDtools Approximate magnification: 400x Notes: First try at Uranus. Seeing 3/5. Color is visible through the eyepiece, as is the spherical shape. Although illumination of the sphere is supposed to be 100%, it appears that I have only partial illumination. I would guess that this could be a result of collimation problems.
	Uranus, with 2x Barlow Date: Sept 17/05 Magnitude: 5.7, 100% illuminated Diameter: 3.66" Distance from Earth: 19.2AU (1.786 billion miles) Exposures: 301 of 1003 Exposure length: 1/25 sec, 10fps, f8.0 Amp on setting: n/a Brightness: 100% Gain: 17% - K3CCDtools level indicator: 122 Filters: Baader IR cut filter Sizing: 2x Barlow, lower image resized x2 in K3CCDtools Approximate magnification: 400x / 800x Notes: A night of better seeing, yielding a better looking result even though the distance is slightly greater. Still, the planet does not appear to be 100% illuminated - my bet is that I'm due for a collimation overhaul.