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Planetary Imaging for Beginners: Easy & Affordable Techniques

Learn how to start planetary imaging with basic equipment and software, capturing stunning images without the need for expensive gear or advanced skills. Discover tips on atmospheric conditions, image capture, stacking, and processing. Enhance your skills with step-by-step guides and valuable resources.

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Planetary Imaging for Beginners: Easy & Affordable Techniques

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  1. Planetaryimaging Martin Rodriguez mrodri2@hotmail.com

  2. Planetary vs. deep sky for the beginner • Easier • Cheaper • Dark skies less important • No need for precise tracking and polar alignment, not even equatorial mounts • Less picture processing

  3. Basic equipment • Telescope • Refractors • Newtonians, Dobs • SC

  4. Basic equipment • Planetary camera • Cheap webcams • Planetary cameras • DSLR • Live view • Avoid high resolution video format, try to have 1:1 pixel resolution • Not possible with all DSLR cameras • Eyepiece projector

  5. Canon DSLR and 1:1 pixel resolution

  6. Basic software • Software • Capturing • Firecapture: http://www.firecapture.de/ • Backyard EOS: https://www.otelescope.com/store/category/2-backyardeos/ • Sharpcap: https://www.sharpcap.co.uk/ • Stacking (lucky imaging) • Autostakkert: https://www.autostakkert.com/ • Registax: https://www.astronomie.be/registax/ • Processing • Photoshop, PixInsight, etc

  7. Optional equipment • Focuser • Tracking • Barlow • The optimal magnification will depend on the quality of seeing and camera pixel size • Eyepiece projection • Other software • PHD2, WinJupos, etc

  8. Atmospheric conditions • Seeing and atmospheric stability • Close to the shore and humid • High pressure systems, right before a cold front • Nights with relatively stable temperatures • High in the sky if possible • Away from heated roof tops or asphalt • Close to dawn and twilight

  9. General concepts • Acclimation • Collimation is key • Focusing • Stars, moons • Software • Adjust as needed, repeatedly

  10. Firecapture

  11. Capture of images in Firecapture • Set the size of the frame • Region of interest (ROI) • 640 x 480 pixels vs higher depending on size of the planet • If higher more memory and size of the frame, but resolution is similar • Turn gamma neutral (500 or unclick), may need to go up on gain • Adjust as needed, histogram about 1/3 – 2/3 of the way • Rate usually 30-50 fps, try to use fast rate if possible • Set duration • Consider rotation of the planet • Start capturing video

  12. Backyard EOS

  13. Rotation speed • Jupiter 1-2 min • Saturn 2-5 min • Mars 3-5 min

  14. Stacking of images • Autostakkert for stacking • Registax for processing

  15. Autostakkert

  16. Registax

  17. Additional things to consider • Pixel size of the camera and magnification • Filters • Monochrome vs color

  18. Magnification and pixel size • Magnify the image so that it is large enough to be sufficiently sampled by the pixel size in your camera to record fine details • How much to magnify will also depend on how good seeing is

  19. Magnification and pixel size • Image scale of 0.25 arcsecs/pixel for very good seeing • Under excellent conditions up to 0.1-0.2 arcsecs/pixel • As a general rule f/ratio should be 3-7x pixel size • ZWO ASI 290 MC: 2.9 microns • Canon 70D 4.1 microns www.starizona.com http://celestialwonders.com/tool/imagescalecalc.html

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