Thanks James! It certainly explains why my images look so bad lol! But I'm glad I chose to use the 174 instead of the 120, because otherwise I may not have started to do all that research.
Hey Joe. Great video and congrats on your first image! Got to give you an attaboy for diving into planetary imaging. Based on my experience here's a few tips I can share from my plunge a few years ago: First, good call on the 2x Barlow and the 2.9 micron camera. I have a C8 / 2x Barlow / ASI290MC and that combo works well. I added an ADC and it made a big difference since I do my captures when the planets are not all that high in the sky. Lastly, FireCapture, Autostakkert, and Registax are a great combo to use to get some excellent results. Good luck!!
Don't be to hard on yourself Joe your first attempts are light years ahead of mine, when I started this hobby 10+ years ago I started off with planetary & Lunar, I've never had much luck with Lunar especially close up images but things did improve when I continued imaging planets, sadly each year they got lower & lower & harder to image but now they're getting higher up I might have another go sometime. It's only recently I've started imaging more & learning new processing skills as before that I were only out now & again until recently. Great video as always clear skies!!
Hey Joe: Sir, I LOVE your channel, and right up front, thank you for your efforts and the information included. I ONLY photograph planets and solar system objects - so keep going please - I want to learn all I can. BTW - anyone who would laugh at you (or anyone) are fools. We all can learn from each other, so laughing at anyone - well - those who laugh are FOOLS. Keep up the great work. Thanks again, Mr. Joe.
Thanks so much Jonathan! I really appreciate the kind words! I'm just learning planetary and I do hope to keep at it. It's something I plan to do in the late summers each year here as the falls and winters are usually too cold and snow packed. That being said however, I am going to try and brave the elements for Mars later this year, we'll see lol!
Very interesting video Joe, looking forward to follow along in your journey to do planetary imaging. I also have some interest in photographing the planets beside my deepsky photography, this kind of video comes at the right time for me
Hi Joe, you can use NINA and Stellerium together to easily find planets. Configure NINA to use Stellarium in setup, open Stellerium, click on the planet, go back to NINA's framing page, click the map icon which will then get coordinates from Stellarium, click NINA's slew and centre button and let plate solving do the rest. Then use whatever planetary acquisition software you want. I would leave the ADC until later, image when planets are overhead for good result, ADC is extremely fiddly to use and just adds another level of complexity when you are doing planetary for the first time.
Thanks, I'm doing something very similar to this now and going to try and use a guide scope to plate solve with actually. I didn't end up getting the ADC yet, but will later. I'm still having issues getting my 462 to resolve a decent image. When I slapped on my 174 guiding camera and a filter wheel, I got some pretty decent detail, but using the 462mc so far has only produced fuzzy images or video. I'll get it figured out though. Thanks for the advice!
This just made My whole Week Joe!! Thank you so much for the shoutout, I'm grateful to have given you advice for doing planetary imaging :))! and I'm glad you gave it a try, Those photos are Really great, have to admit your first planetary photos are wayyy better than My own, lol! The fact you used monochrome camera. I see you using pixinsight, I would suggest you to check out Registax for better process on wavelets. also when, Stacking in autostackkert Its recommended to stack maximum no of frames (something like 50 or 70 %, It helps to get rid of noise and Pop out the details. Look forward to see more from you man, Fantastic work!
I love imaging the planets, great work! I only bump up beyond a 2x barlow if seeing is very stable with my setup. Looking forward to seeing more planetary work on your channel.
Great start to imaging the planets - it’s quite a different beast to DSO. Tons of very useful info in your video, especially with those tools you showed from Highpoint Scientific. Don’t necessarily discount using one of your DSO cameras though as I feel that my best image of Jupiter was actually captured using the ASI1600. Oh, and thanks for the mention.
Hey Joe. I would be more than happy with the images you captured, as I am the same, never done Planetary. One day when I get a bigger scope. We all have to start somewhere and think you have a great starting point there. Hope all is well mate and Clear Skies.
Hey Joe. Great video and the timing couldn't be better. After ordering my EdgeHD 8 a year ago(when you received yours) I am finally getting it delivered tomorrow. I use an ASI Air which uses video to stack. I think I'll try using my 120mini to see how it goes! Thanks so much! My have to try a Barlow also.
Very nice first planetary images Joe! I also like doing planetary imaging with Firecapture. Really like the program. And I already purchased a ADC as well but didn't had the chance to really test it. Yeah, true..for color correction and this will also give you much better and sharper pics. And this will also work much better than just reducing the colors in post-processing. From my personal experience atmospheric seeing is key when doing planetary imaging... - Great video Joe and nice first planetary results! 👍🏼 cs
Great first images of the planets Joe, interesting video and some good tips! I may try planetary one day, but still so much to learn on deep sky for me!😀 Clear skies!
Hi Joe, Well, where to begin ... Okay, yes, the camera. I found that you want the smallest pixel size, usually, anything under 3 microns. I've been shooting with the ASI 071 mc but it has a pixel size of 4.8. The reason was that the planetary camera I ordered in May, the ZWO ASI 585, wasn't in stock and I've been waiting for it. It has a pixel size of 2.9 microns. Well, as it goes, as soon as I made a video on Saturn, the camera arrived, but with the arrival of new astro equipment came the clouds. Looks like 7 nights of clouds and rain for me. As for the Barlow, I would stick to the 2x. The greater the amplification, the more difficult it is to focus and it is dimmer, so you would need to lengthen the shutter speed or raise the gain, or both . As per the ADC, you need to be at the scope with either a good external monitor or through an eyepiece to set it correctly and once again, could be tricky. Similar in when you collimate your scope. Once these clouds get out of here, I am anxious to slap on that 585 and ADC and perhaps play with the 2x Barlow. I thought about shooting in mono RGB, but OSC is good for us lazy guys. Oh, and thanks for the shout-out
Wow Pat, thanks so much for all the fantastic info! I just looked up the ASI585 and now I have to rethink the ASI462MC. I'm really looking forward to your upcoming videos with the new gear. I may wait on the ADC as I was doing more research on it and it seems to have a little bit of it's own learning curve and I like to take things in bite size pieces. So I may get decent with planetary and then purchase an ADC down the line once I know more of what I'm doing. Thanks again for all the wonderful knowledge my friend!
Nice image and very informative video Joe. I never knew about of any of those formulas before. I did a bit of planetary work 6-years ago and have not been back since. Doing too many other things but it is fun and as you said you don't need an entire clear night. If you did want to do mono you could use the ASI294MM set at bin1 but the color camera you are planning is a better option. - Cheers Kurt
Hey Joe good video and info. This is on my list this season too now I have the C925. I actually bought a second hand 482mc a while back but never got round to using it. That chart is a good reference cheers 👍 Looks like I'd really need a x3 barlow too. I guess the other thing is the quality of the Barlow, I don't really wanna spend a fortune on one, so might just get a basic one to start with. Oh and BTW great first effort 👏
Those images are amazing, especially considering this was your first go at it. I always struggle a bit with Barlows when I try a bit of planetary stuff as it can be hard to actually find the planet in your field of view on the laptop.
Thanks you John! I'm worried about that myself. I ordered a 2x barlow and ASI462 camera and starting to wonder how hard it is going to be to find the planet on that tiny sensor chip at 4000mm.
haha, good timing. I was just blowing the dust off my 9.25 Edge HD and rummaging around for what camera would work best. I have the ASI290 already, and I'm certain somewhere in my giant box of "stuff" I have a barlow lense....not sure which one though. But thanks for sharing this article from HPS. Seems like a good reference, since I really haven't done planetary yet. Oh, and don't avoid HPS for any reason other than I always end up with something in my shopping cart :)
Good choice with the 462. I started with planetary and the 462 is a great match for the C8. If your conditions are just average, unscrewing the bottom of some 2X Barlow and screwing it into the ZWO nosepiece makes it about 1.5X and that works really well with the 462 and C8. 2X with that combo works best in above average conditions for me.
Thanks Rod! That's an awesome tip and I'll be sure to try that out. I just sent in my order today. Took a while of deciding between the 585 and the 462, but finally decided on the 462.
Hey Joe, this is a little off topic for this video but I'm getting into astrophotography, getting things a bit at a time. I was able to buy a used 8" Edge HD that came with a Celestron OAG and a .7 reducer. I've also picked up a used AVX mount and an ASI120 guide camera. My question is which main camera; color or mono? What do you think is best for someone just starting out? I realize there's no once size fits all, but would like your thoughts. BTW, been following you for about a year now as I assemble things and appreciate the info you provide. Thanks for your time and effort.
Thanks so much Kent and congrats on your new gear! You may find it difficult to get good guide stars with a 120 on that oag. I'm sure you can manage for a while, but will want to upgrade to a 290 or 174 at some point. Also the AVX mount may be a little iffy on guiding with the EdsgeHD8, probably easily fine for visual, but may want to start looking for something a little more beefy for astrophotography in the long run. Great starting point though, super excited for you man! As for a camera, I absolutely love the 294MM Pro with the EdgeHD8. It just matches up so well with the pixel scale and you only require 1.25" filters for it. If you don't want to start with mono, then probably the 2600MC OSC camera. The 294MC OSC is really finicky with flats and such. You'll need to drizzle with 2600MC's pixel scale but definitely doable. If you live in an area with high light pollution, B5 or higher, I'd really recommend going mono. It is a higher learning curve but not that much more to be honest and you'll get much nicer data. Sorry for such a long response, but hope it helps and please let me know if you have any questions.
Just add to the advice, don't waste money on full size sensor. APSC sensor at most. Especially because you already have OAG and reducer you will have a lot of vignetting. There is possible to use full size sensor without the reducer at F10, that is actually what I do, but you will have to do flats for the vignetting correction. The imaging circle of 8HD is not that big... I actually use a cheap f11 700mm telescope as my guidescope instead of OAG, but OAG is better... Also from my experience, for planets the color camera may be better choice because they rotate particularly fast and that only allows for 3min video for all RGB at most, also if you want to have any of moons included, mono is really pain in the a.. to stack. With color doing the planet rotation time lapse is a breeze too. My best Jupiter image was done by my Nikon D5300 using live view screen capture method and 3x barlow. With dedicated astrophotography color camera you may get even better results. However my best Mars picture was done by 290MM mono and RGB filters simply because Mars rotates 2x slower than Jupiter, so number of good frames is sufficient for a good stack. Since you already have 120colour camera, use it for Jupiter and Saturn and get 290mm for Mars, mono deep sky and for guiding. It is a great little camera... And for deep sky long exposures, be careful, some of new cameras have issues with lubricant leaks... I think ASI 2600 series comes into mind... APC or square size, cooled, 16bit, high signal to noise ratio with deep well... I am not good at this stuff.... The deep well is quite important, with SCT telescopes bright stars look already bigger than with refractors so I would watch for that too... But I may also need advice myself because I will need to buy astro imaging camera myself as I still use the old modified Canon 5D M3
One more, When imaging mono, most of the cheaper rgb filters will need refocus in between the captures and that will also reduce your already short 3minutes imaging gap. Especially for blue
Nice video. I am an amature astronomer looking for the best telescope within the budget of 7000 (including stand, camera, and barlow) and this helped a lot. do you have any recomendations?
Hi Dave, I’ve read great things about the Powermate x2, but I also read great things about the Celestron cel Barlow and ended up going that way, mostly due to budget. I’m definitely not the person to ask advice on planetary though. I just started this part of the hobby but hope to have more experience soon.
It is more appropriate to use the Nyquist resolution criteria, where your ideal f/D would be f/42 or a 4.2X barlow. You can increase the effective power of your Barlow by moving the sensor away. You must experiment to obtain the formula for the variation of the power of your barlow based on that distance. You can consult Richard Berry (or his book "Astronomical Image Processing"), who explains very clearly this Nyquist criterion and the ideal f/ to obtain the best planetary resolution based on your pixel. Similarly, the calculation you do is also in good range. A hug.
I just reviewed the recommended formula by HPS and I see that they use the Nyquist criterion, which coincides with my recommendation of f/42 (f/41 for HPS that surely by using wavelength at 500nm and not 550nm) for a 5.9um pix (with good seeing). Regards
Thanks so much Jesus! This is great, thanks for posting. I’ve been doing DSO imaging for years, but first time trying planetary and didn’t realize the learning curve, but I’m having a great time learning it. I really appreciate the advice and will be experimenting like you say with moving the sensor closer and further from the Barlow when I get it in.
My formula based on the Nyquist Criterion is: Barlow Power [X] = (pix_size [microns] * 2 * 1000) / (0.51 * wavelength [nm] * f/ ). In your case: Barlow Power [X] = (5.9 [microns] * 2 * 1000) / (0.51 * 550 [nm] * 10) = 4.2 X Barlow Which is equal to: Barlow Power [X] = pix_size [microns] * 7.13 / f/ = 5.9 * 7.13 /10 = 4.2 Hugs
Thanks Jesus, I’ll probably add this formula to my next video and test it out with the gear I have coming. I take it the wavelength will change if using OSC with an ir/up cut filter? So 300nm for a filter that cuts below 400 and above 700.
OK... seriously... do you read my mind or something? I just tried planetary imaging this past weekend (got my first image of Saturn)... and now I was looking into cameras / Barlows. I used my 294MM in bin1 mode natively on the EdgeHD. I actually took my OAG out of the train and just used the full T-adapter with a couple extra spacers. By the way, did Firecapture reset your EAF? Every time I launch FC, it immediately sends my EAF back to 0 position.
Thanks Jonny! FC didn’t reset my EAF, but good to know, I’ll look out for that. I should have tried my 294MM. I just assumed the planets would have been super tiny, but probably would have had more detail than what I got.
@@JoesAstrophoto yeah the ROI is absolutely tiny on the sensor when running in the unlocked mode. The good thing is I have PLENTY of room to get the planet on sensor, then just put the ROI wherever it is. Another good thing about using the 294 is I already have NINA and ASTAP setup to use it for DSO imaging. So, I simply framed and plate solved for Saturn in NINA... got it right in the center of the sensor, then started up SharpCap (I didn't use FC because of the focus reset thing... and well, I didn't know the software at all, so used SharpCap which I'm a bit more familiar with).
That was a good idea! I had no idea you could plate solve on a planet to be honest. I just used Stellarium, but I’d much rather use NINA, great to know.
Joe--holy shit!!! When you said your EAF just suddenly went out on you I about yelled out. BOTH of mine just did the same thing!!!! At the same time!!!! I just got approval from ZWO to send them in for repair. Don’t know if they’ll send 5volters back to me, though. By any chance, we’re you using SGPro when the EAF went out on you?
Thanks Ken, I use NINA, but my EAF just would no longer be recognized by any pc I plugged it into. Hopefully they’ll send you back a 5v as that’s one less cable to manage. Good luck and thanks for the comment.
@@JoesAstrophoto Well, thank the gods that it wasn’t SGP!! At least now I don’t have to wipe my laptop and reinstall everything!! Great videos, Joe. Love how accessible you make everything.
Dude what secret formula that Jupiter is a complete failure side to side. I don't now if you mess the things up with winjupos derotation or you took minivideos way too much long but the result is dragged details and that's unacceptable for a guy who pretend to teach how imaging planets. There's no details. It's blurry. Ringed. I think the setup is not collimated too. Seriously it looks like when I took 400 frames in 20 minutes with a DSRL and stacked the "best" 75% of them.
Great video Joe! Your formula explains why I got better results using the .7 reducer with the 178 and 2x barlow vs shooting at F10. Interesting!
Thanks James! It certainly explains why my images look so bad lol! But I'm glad I chose to use the 174 instead of the 120, because otherwise I may not have started to do all that research.
Great work Joe, not something I have tried yet but you have got me interested
Thanks Glenn! I wonder if it's possible to do a collab on a planet? Hahaha
Hey Joe. Great video and congrats on your first image! Got to give you an attaboy for diving into planetary imaging. Based on my experience here's a few tips I can share from my plunge a few years ago: First, good call on the 2x Barlow and the 2.9 micron camera. I have a C8 / 2x Barlow / ASI290MC and that combo works well. I added an ADC and it made a big difference since I do my captures when the planets are not all that high in the sky. Lastly, FireCapture, Autostakkert, and Registax are a great combo to use to get some excellent results. Good luck!!
Thanks so much dali, and thanks for verifying that combination. I’m going to be ordering later today.
Don't be to hard on yourself Joe your first attempts are light years ahead of mine, when I started this hobby 10+ years ago I started off with planetary & Lunar, I've never had much luck with Lunar especially close up images but things did improve when I continued imaging planets, sadly each year they got lower & lower & harder to image but now they're getting higher up I might have another go sometime. It's only recently I've started imaging more & learning new processing skills as before that I were only out now & again until recently.
Great video as always clear skies!!
Thanks so much DDO, it’s great to see our own and other’s progression in our hobby.
Hey Joe: Sir, I LOVE your channel, and right up front, thank you for your efforts and the information included. I ONLY photograph planets and solar system objects - so keep going please - I want to learn all I can. BTW - anyone who would laugh at you (or anyone) are fools. We all can learn from each other, so laughing at anyone - well - those who laugh are FOOLS. Keep up the great work. Thanks again, Mr. Joe.
Thanks so much Jonathan! I really appreciate the kind words! I'm just learning planetary and I do hope to keep at it. It's something I plan to do in the late summers each year here as the falls and winters are usually too cold and snow packed. That being said however, I am going to try and brave the elements for Mars later this year, we'll see lol!
From one rabbit hole to another. Nice first attempt 👍🏻😊
Thanks Amri! It never ends hahaha
This was extremely helpful Joe! I have pretty much the same setup and want to give this a shot! Thanks!
Thanks DSA!
Awesome Joe!
Very interesting video Joe, looking forward to follow along in your journey to do planetary imaging.
I also have some interest in photographing the planets beside my deepsky photography, this kind of video comes at the right time for me
Thanks Siegfried! I’m excited to do some more.
Perfect timing for the planetary Joe, especially with Mars in the sky this year. Got the asi462mc and zwo ADC myself, can't go wrong.
Thanks AGM! That’s exactly what I’m planning. I really had to search around to find the 462 in stock actually, but it’s on its way.
Thanks Joe for the tutorial & heads up on pixel sizes & Barlow lenses
Thanks so much Bob, much appreciated!
Excellent vid. I bookmarked this video in my spread sheet the moment the 5x formula appears. Nice vista from your house by the way.
Thanks so much SC, much appreciated!
Hi Joe, you can use NINA and Stellerium together to easily find planets. Configure NINA to use Stellarium in setup, open Stellerium, click on the planet, go back to NINA's framing page, click the map icon which will then get coordinates from Stellarium, click NINA's slew and centre button and let plate solving do the rest. Then use whatever planetary acquisition software you want. I would leave the ADC until later, image when planets are overhead for good result, ADC is extremely fiddly to use and just adds another level of complexity when you are doing planetary for the first time.
Thanks, I'm doing something very similar to this now and going to try and use a guide scope to plate solve with actually. I didn't end up getting the ADC yet, but will later. I'm still having issues getting my 462 to resolve a decent image. When I slapped on my 174 guiding camera and a filter wheel, I got some pretty decent detail, but using the 462mc so far has only produced fuzzy images or video. I'll get it figured out though. Thanks for the advice!
This just made My whole Week Joe!! Thank you so much for the shoutout, I'm grateful to have given you advice for doing planetary imaging :))! and I'm glad you gave it a try, Those photos are Really great, have to admit your first planetary photos are wayyy better than My own, lol! The fact you used monochrome camera.
I see you using pixinsight, I would suggest you to check out Registax for better process on wavelets. also when, Stacking in autostackkert Its recommended to stack maximum no of frames (something like 50 or 70 %, It helps to get rid of noise and Pop out the details. Look forward to see more from you man, Fantastic work!
Thanks so much Avanteesh! Great tips and thanks for always supporting my channel. I hope to get much better at this.
I love imaging the planets, great work! I only bump up beyond a 2x barlow if seeing is very stable with my setup. Looking forward to seeing more planetary work on your channel.
Thanks so much Kyle! I’d be ecstatic if I could good images as good as yours.
Great start to imaging the planets - it’s quite a different beast to DSO. Tons of very useful info in your video, especially with those tools you showed from Highpoint Scientific. Don’t necessarily discount using one of your DSO cameras though as I feel that my best image of Jupiter was actually captured using the ASI1600. Oh, and thanks for the mention.
Thanks Logan I'm glad you liked it! I have a long way to go to get some good images, but it'll be a fun journey to get there.
Hey Joe.
I would be more than happy with the images you captured, as I am the same, never done Planetary. One day when I get a bigger scope.
We all have to start somewhere and think you have a great starting point there.
Hope all is well mate and Clear Skies.
Thanks Ben! I’m hoping to really improve soon.
Hey Joe. Great video and the timing couldn't be better. After ordering my EdgeHD 8 a year ago(when you received yours) I am finally getting it delivered tomorrow. I use an ASI Air which uses video to stack. I think I'll try using my 120mini to see how it goes! Thanks so much! My have to try a Barlow also.
Thanks Jim, and congrats on the scope! Hope you love it as much as I do.
Very nice first planetary images Joe! I also like doing planetary imaging with Firecapture. Really like the program. And I already purchased a ADC as well but didn't had the chance to really test it. Yeah, true..for color correction and this will also give you much better and sharper pics. And this will also work much better than just reducing the colors in post-processing. From my personal experience atmospheric seeing is key when doing planetary imaging... - Great video Joe and nice first planetary results! 👍🏼 cs
Thanks Tully! The ADC was back ordered but still planning on getting one down the road. Looking forward to seeing how you get on with yours.
@@JoesAstrophoto Really cool Joe! 👍🏼 By the way ZWO has a really nice and short ADC manual.
astronomy-imaging-camera.com/manuals/ADC%20Manual%20EN.pdf
Great first images of the planets Joe, interesting video and some good tips! I may try planetary one day, but still so much to learn on deep sky for me!😀 Clear skies!
Thanks Simon! I'm finding it can be just as complex as DSO imaging, at least the learning curve is for me hahaha
Hi Joe,
Well, where to begin ... Okay, yes, the camera. I found that you want the smallest pixel size, usually, anything under 3 microns. I've been shooting with the ASI 071 mc but it has a pixel size of 4.8. The reason was that the planetary camera I ordered in May, the ZWO ASI 585, wasn't in stock and I've been waiting for it. It has a pixel size of 2.9 microns. Well, as it goes, as soon as I made a video on Saturn, the camera arrived, but with the arrival of new astro equipment came the clouds. Looks like 7 nights of clouds and rain for me.
As for the Barlow, I would stick to the 2x. The greater the amplification, the more difficult it is to focus and it is dimmer, so you would need to lengthen the shutter speed or raise the gain, or both
.
As per the ADC, you need to be at the scope with either a good external monitor or through an eyepiece to set it correctly and once again, could be tricky. Similar in when you collimate your scope. Once these clouds get out of here, I am anxious to slap on that 585 and ADC and perhaps play with the 2x Barlow.
I thought about shooting in mono RGB, but OSC is good for us lazy guys. Oh, and thanks for the shout-out
Wow Pat, thanks so much for all the fantastic info! I just looked up the ASI585 and now I have to rethink the ASI462MC. I'm really looking forward to your upcoming videos with the new gear. I may wait on the ADC as I was doing more research on it and it seems to have a little bit of it's own learning curve and I like to take things in bite size pieces. So I may get decent with planetary and then purchase an ADC down the line once I know more of what I'm doing. Thanks again for all the wonderful knowledge my friend!
Wow!. You are inspiring Boss. You are inspiring me. Great capture man! Best Wishes to you
Many thanks PM!
Nice image and very informative video Joe. I never knew about of any of those formulas before. I did a bit of planetary work 6-years ago and have not been back since. Doing too many other things but it is fun and as you said you don't need an entire clear night. If you did want to do mono you could use the ASI294MM set at bin1 but the color camera you are planning is a better option. - Cheers Kurt
Thanks Kurt, I got my gear in, just need to do a video on it now. waiting for the full moon so not to interrupt dark skies.
Hey Joe good video and info. This is on my list this season too now I have the C925. I actually bought a second hand 482mc a while back but never got round to using it. That chart is a good reference cheers 👍 Looks like I'd really need a x3 barlow too. I guess the other thing is the quality of the Barlow, I don't really wanna spend a fortune on one, so might just get a basic one to start with. Oh and BTW great first effort 👏
Thanks Ollie, it seems like a lot of fun to capture the planets as well as the faint fuzzies. I'm sure you'll get some fantastic shots with that c925.
Those images are amazing, especially considering this was your first go at it. I always struggle a bit with Barlows when I try a bit of planetary stuff as it can be hard to actually find the planet in your field of view on the laptop.
Thanks you John! I'm worried about that myself. I ordered a 2x barlow and ASI462 camera and starting to wonder how hard it is going to be to find the planet on that tiny sensor chip at 4000mm.
Try the Luminos 2.5x apo 2" Barlow as it can give a wide view. It's a shorty.
haha, good timing. I was just blowing the dust off my 9.25 Edge HD and rummaging around for what camera would work best. I have the ASI290 already, and I'm certain somewhere in my giant box of "stuff" I have a barlow lense....not sure which one though. But thanks for sharing this article from HPS. Seems like a good reference, since I really haven't done planetary yet. Oh, and don't avoid HPS for any reason other than I always end up with something in my shopping cart :)
Thanks Neil! I think the 290 with a 2X Barlow should be perfect based on the chart. I hear ya on the shopping cart, mines loaded at the moment hahaha
Looks great
Thanks Ray!
This was great! Thank you!
Thanks Mike!
Good choice with the 462. I started with planetary and the 462 is a great match for the C8. If your conditions are just average, unscrewing the bottom of some 2X Barlow and screwing it into the ZWO nosepiece makes it about 1.5X and that works really well with the 462 and C8. 2X with that combo works best in above average conditions for me.
Thanks Rod! That's an awesome tip and I'll be sure to try that out. I just sent in my order today. Took a while of deciding between the 585 and the 462, but finally decided on the 462.
Hey Joe, this is a little off topic for this video but I'm getting into astrophotography, getting things a bit at a time. I was able to buy a used 8" Edge HD that came with a Celestron OAG and a .7 reducer. I've also picked up a used AVX mount and an ASI120 guide camera. My question is which main camera; color or mono? What do you think is best for someone just starting out? I realize there's no once size fits all, but would like your thoughts. BTW, been following you for about a year now as I assemble things and appreciate the info you provide. Thanks for your time and effort.
Thanks so much Kent and congrats on your new gear! You may find it difficult to get good guide stars with a 120 on that oag. I'm sure you can manage for a while, but will want to upgrade to a 290 or 174 at some point. Also the AVX mount may be a little iffy on guiding with the EdsgeHD8, probably easily fine for visual, but may want to start looking for something a little more beefy for astrophotography in the long run. Great starting point though, super excited for you man! As for a camera, I absolutely love the 294MM Pro with the EdgeHD8. It just matches up so well with the pixel scale and you only require 1.25" filters for it. If you don't want to start with mono, then probably the 2600MC OSC camera. The 294MC OSC is really finicky with flats and such. You'll need to drizzle with 2600MC's pixel scale but definitely doable. If you live in an area with high light pollution, B5 or higher, I'd really recommend going mono. It is a higher learning curve but not that much more to be honest and you'll get much nicer data. Sorry for such a long response, but hope it helps and please let me know if you have any questions.
@@JoesAstrophoto Not too long at all and appreciate you taking the time. As usual, good information. Thanks
Just add to the advice, don't waste money on full size sensor. APSC sensor at most. Especially because you already have OAG and reducer you will have a lot of vignetting. There is possible to use full size sensor without the reducer at F10, that is actually what I do, but you will have to do flats for the vignetting correction. The imaging circle of 8HD is not that big... I actually use a cheap f11 700mm telescope as my guidescope instead of OAG, but OAG is better...
Also from my experience, for planets the color camera may be better choice because they rotate particularly fast and that only allows for 3min video for all RGB at most, also if you want to have any of moons included, mono is really pain in the a.. to stack. With color doing the planet rotation time lapse is a breeze too. My best Jupiter image was done by my Nikon D5300 using live view screen capture method and 3x barlow. With dedicated astrophotography color camera you may get even better results. However my best Mars picture was done by 290MM mono and RGB filters simply because Mars rotates 2x slower than Jupiter, so number of good frames is sufficient for a good stack.
Since you already have 120colour camera, use it for Jupiter and Saturn and get 290mm for Mars, mono deep sky and for guiding. It is a great little camera... And for deep sky long exposures, be careful, some of new cameras have issues with lubricant leaks... I think ASI 2600 series comes into mind...
APC or square size, cooled, 16bit, high signal to noise ratio with deep well... I am not good at this stuff....
The deep well is quite important, with SCT telescopes bright stars look already bigger than with refractors so I would watch for that too...
But I may also need advice myself because I will need to buy astro imaging camera myself as I still use the old modified Canon 5D M3
Great tips Lubo, thanks!
One more, When imaging mono, most of the cheaper rgb filters will need refocus in between the captures and that will also reduce your already short 3minutes imaging gap. Especially for blue
Nice video. I am an amature astronomer looking for the best telescope within the budget of 7000 (including stand, camera, and barlow) and this helped a lot. do you have any recomendations?
Hi Joe, what barlow are you going to use. Im looking at a Televue powermate x2. They seem to be popular with planetary imaging.
Hi Dave, I’ve read great things about the Powermate x2, but I also read great things about the Celestron cel Barlow and ended up going that way, mostly due to budget. I’m definitely not the person to ask advice on planetary though. I just started this part of the hobby but hope to have more experience soon.
F30 in New Mexico and Hawaii; F25 in Arizona and CA; F20 in Texas; F10 everywhere else; F3-5 in New York City and Boston.
It is more appropriate to use the Nyquist resolution criteria, where your ideal f/D would be f/42 or a 4.2X barlow. You can increase the effective power of your Barlow by moving the sensor away. You must experiment to obtain the formula for the variation of the power of your barlow based on that distance. You can consult Richard Berry (or his book "Astronomical Image Processing"), who explains very clearly this Nyquist criterion and the ideal f/ to obtain the best planetary resolution based on your pixel. Similarly, the calculation you do is also in good range. A hug.
I just reviewed the recommended formula by HPS and I see that they use the Nyquist criterion, which coincides with my recommendation of f/42 (f/41 for HPS that surely by using wavelength at 500nm and not 550nm) for a 5.9um pix (with good seeing). Regards
Thanks so much Jesus! This is great, thanks for posting. I’ve been doing DSO imaging for years, but first time trying planetary and didn’t realize the learning curve, but I’m having a great time learning it. I really appreciate the advice and will be experimenting like you say with moving the sensor closer and further from the Barlow when I get it in.
My formula based on the Nyquist Criterion is: Barlow Power [X] = (pix_size [microns] * 2 * 1000) / (0.51 * wavelength [nm] * f/ ). In your case: Barlow Power [X] = (5.9 [microns] * 2 * 1000) / (0.51 * 550 [nm] * 10) = 4.2 X Barlow Which is equal to: Barlow Power [X] = pix_size [microns] * 7.13 / f/ = 5.9 * 7.13 /10 = 4.2 Hugs
Thanks Jesus, I’ll probably add this formula to my next video and test it out with the gear I have coming. I take it the wavelength will change if using OSC with an ir/up cut filter? So 300nm for a filter that cuts below 400 and above 700.
@@JoesAstrophoto That's right joe. Hugs
Nice video! I looked up the specs of the 174 and it has large pixels. 5.86 For Planetary the 178 with 2.4 could be better. But i am no expert
Thanks Kroller, that’s what lead me to finding the formula and making the video. Just trying to turn mistakes into learning moments.
@@JoesAstrophoto The 174 is a perfect cam for your oag!
Use Your 2600 with region of interest (640x480 @ 28fps)
In planetary photography you can reach 0.15-0.30 arcsec/pixel, so your formula is obsolete.
Are you on the spaceship?
Look the elevation you have in the background 😅
OK... seriously... do you read my mind or something? I just tried planetary imaging this past weekend (got my first image of Saturn)... and now I was looking into cameras / Barlows. I used my 294MM in bin1 mode natively on the EdgeHD. I actually took my OAG out of the train and just used the full T-adapter with a couple extra spacers.
By the way, did Firecapture reset your EAF? Every time I launch FC, it immediately sends my EAF back to 0 position.
Thanks Jonny! FC didn’t reset my EAF, but good to know, I’ll look out for that. I should have tried my 294MM. I just assumed the planets would have been super tiny, but probably would have had more detail than what I got.
@@JoesAstrophoto yeah the ROI is absolutely tiny on the sensor when running in the unlocked mode. The good thing is I have PLENTY of room to get the planet on sensor, then just put the ROI wherever it is.
Another good thing about using the 294 is I already have NINA and ASTAP setup to use it for DSO imaging. So, I simply framed and plate solved for Saturn in NINA... got it right in the center of the sensor, then started up SharpCap (I didn't use FC because of the focus reset thing... and well, I didn't know the software at all, so used SharpCap which I'm a bit more familiar with).
That was a good idea! I had no idea you could plate solve on a planet to be honest. I just used Stellarium, but I’d much rather use NINA, great to know.
Joe--holy shit!!! When you said your EAF just suddenly went out on you I about yelled out. BOTH of mine just did the same thing!!!! At the same time!!!! I just got approval from ZWO to send them in for repair. Don’t know if they’ll send 5volters back to me, though. By any chance, we’re you using SGPro when the EAF went out on you?
Thanks Ken, I use NINA, but my EAF just would no longer be recognized by any pc I plugged it into. Hopefully they’ll send you back a 5v as that’s one less cable to manage. Good luck and thanks for the comment.
@@JoesAstrophoto Well, thank the gods that it wasn’t SGP!! At least now I don’t have to wipe my laptop and reinstall everything!!
Great videos, Joe. Love how accessible you make everything.
Like like like
Thanks so much Ana!
Dude what secret formula that Jupiter is a complete failure side to side. I don't now if you mess the things up with winjupos derotation or you took minivideos way too much long but the result is dragged details and that's unacceptable for a guy who pretend to teach how imaging planets. There's no details. It's blurry. Ringed. I think the setup is not collimated too.
Seriously it looks like when I took 400 frames in 20 minutes with a DSRL and stacked the "best" 75% of them.