Planets

15 November 2022

I photographed the total lunar eclipse

claudio Eclipse, Planets, Solar System, Video, YouTube lucky imaging, Lunar eclipse, Moon, planetary imaging, solar system

I photographed the total lunar eclipse on November 08, 2022

Less than 1 minute Minutes

On November 08, 2022 a total lunar eclipse was visible in the early morning from my location. Although the Moon was low on the horizon, I decided to give a try and to observe the totality.

The next total lunar eclipse won’t happen until March 14, 2025.

The night before the sky was crystal clear and the view of the Moon from my telescope looked promising.

I observed the totality from my driveway and captured a few images with my DSLR camera (a Nikon D5300) and a 55-200 telephoto zoom lens. I am happy to share an image of the totality and a short YouTube video of the eclipse. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

You can subscribe to my YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/@wondersofthesky

Until next time, clear skies!

Date: 2022-11-08
Location: Richmond Hill (ON)
Scope: Explore Scientific ED80CF for the Full Moon

Mount: Celestron CG-5
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC PRO, Nikon D5300 + 55-200 telephoto zoom lens

Software: FireCapture (best 30% of 10 seconds videos), AutoStakkert!3 (AS!3), Registax, GIMP.

The night before the sky was crystal clear and the view of the Moon from my telescope looked really promising.

Stacked image of the Full Moon (2022-11-07)

I took this image of the total lunar eclipse at its maximum from my driveway.

19 September 2022

A night with Jupiter

claudio Planets, Solar System, Video, YouTube Jupiter, lucky imaging, opposition, planetary cameras, planetary imaging, Planets, solar system

A night with Jupiter

Less than 1 minute Minutes

The night of September 08, 2022 I imaged Jupiter with a 8 inch telescope and a planetary camera from my driveway. Plenty of atmospheric details are visible in the final image: dark-colored belts, light-colored zones and finally the North and South polar regions.

Over the course of the night I also imaged the Great Red Spot (GRS) emerging from the lower edge of Jupiter’s disc and two Galileian moons: Io and Europa.

On September 26, the giant planet will be at opposition and will be visible all night long. The night before (September 25) Jupiter will make its closest approach to Earth since October 1951. Its distance will be 590 million km and it won’t be this close again for the next 107 years, until the year 2129!

I made a short YouTube video of Jupiter, too. Scroll to the end of this page to watch it. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Date: 2022-09-08
Location: Richmond Hill (ON)
Scope: Celestron 8 SCT, Tele Vue PowerMate 2.5x
Mount: Celestron AVX
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC

Filter: ZWO IR Cut filter

Finder Scope: Explore Scientific 8×50 Non-Illuminated Finder Scope

Focuser: Celestron Focus Motor
Software: FireCapture (best 30% of 60 seconds videos), AutoStakkert!3 (AS!3), Registax, Topaz DeNoise AI, GIMP.

The final processed image of Jupiter. Plenty of atmospheric details are visible:

dark-colored belts (North Tropical Belt, North Equatorial Belt, South Equatorial Belt);
light-colored zones (North Temperate Zone, North Tropical Zone, Equatorial Zone, South Tropical Zone, South Temperate Zone);
and finally the North Polar Region and the South Polar Region.

A combination of wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric jets, and cloud composition causes Jupiter’s banded appearance.

Credits: https://astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2012/10/color-code and NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

14 August 2022

I imaged Saturn and its moons at opposition!

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I imaged Saturn and its moons at opposition!

Less than 1 minute Minutes

I took advantage of a few clear nights to image Saturn with my Celestron 8 SCT telescope, a PowerMate 2.5x and a dedicated planetary camera (ZWO ASI224MC).

Seeing was below average, but I collected enough data and I stacked Saturn images into the final image visible below. The image shows the yellow disc of the planet, the rings with the Cassini division and even three moons: Rhea to the top, Tethys to the left and Titan with its yellow atmosphere (made mostly of nitrogen and methane) to the bottom. If you scroll between the two images I added the label with Saturn’s moons.

For a few days around the time of the opposition, Saturn’s rings suddenly intensify their apparent brightness due to the “opposition surge”, also known as Seeliger effect.

I made a short YouTube video of Saturn. Scroll to the end of this page to watch it. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Date: 2022-08-13 04:28UT
Location: Richmond Hill (ON)
Scope: Celestron 8 SCT, Tele Vue PowerMate 2.5x
Mount: Celestron AVX
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC

Filter: ZWO IR Cut filter

Finder Scope: Explore Scientific 8×50 Non-Illuminated Finder Scope

Focuser: Celestron Focus Motor
Software: FireCapture (best 25% of 60 seconds videos), AutoStakkert!3 (AS!3), Registax, Topaz DeNoise AI, GIMP.

Saturn just one day before the opposition.

I also switched filter and captured Saturn with an Astronomik IR642BP IR-pass filter.

Date: 2022-08-13 03:41UT

Saturn (2022-08-13) - Astronomik IR642 BP IR-pass filter

2 August 2022

My first planetary images of the season

claudio Planets, Solar System Jupiter, lucky imaging, Planets, Saturn, solar system

My first planetary images of the season!

Less than 1 minute Minutes

I had to stay up until 3am, but at last I was finally able to capture my first planetary images for the season!

Seeing was brutal for the most part of the night, with some low clouds that were disturbing my imaging session. In the last 20 minutes, when I was almost giving up, the atmospheric turbulence improved.

Notably, I visually saw a very bright passage of the ISS (International Space Station) at 10:44 pm EDT.

Around midnight a neighbour saw me and my telescope in my backyard and decided to join me and watch Saturn together!

Date: 2022-06-23
Location: Richmond Hill (ON)
Scope: Celestron 8 SCT
Mount: Celestron AVX
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC

Filter: ZWO IR Cut filter

Finder Scope: Explore Scientific 8×50 Non-Illuminated Finder Scope

Focuser: Celestron Focus Motor
Software: FireCapture (best 20% of 60 minute videos), AutoStakkert!3 (AS!3), Registax, Topaz DeNoise AI, GIMP.

Jupiter with the NEB and SEB (North and South Equatorial Belt), a few outbreaks in the clouds and, obviously, the GRS (Great Red Spot).

Saturn and its rings. The Cassini Division is clearly visible, as well as the C Ring (the wide and faint ring located inward of the B Ring), the B Ring and the A ring.

The ice giant Neptune. You can see the blue color but no details of the planets are visible nor its biggest moon, Triton. The distance of Neptune when I shot this image was 29.322 AU (4,386 million kilometers)!

17 May 2022

A total lunar eclipse on a cloudy night

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A total lunar eclipse on a cloudy night

Less than 1 minute Minutes

After one entire week of clear sky (very rare for my location), the weather forecast was discouraging for the eclipse night (May 15-16, 2022).

Despite the clouds, I carefully planned my setup by chosing the telescope, the camera, and even planned a live streaming on YouTube.

As expected, I had a rough journey with the weather, but there were some clear breaks in the clouds around the time of the totality. I was able to capture a few frames between 10:55pm and 11:35pm with my 80mm APO refractor and a dedicated CMOS camera (ZWO ASI533MC).

It seemed a dark eclipse compared with the last one, maybe because of the eruption in the Tongan archipelago (Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai) on 20 December 2021.

The images below are a stacked image from the beginning of the totality and an animated gif that shows the progress of the eclipse.

Lesson I learned last night: Never give up!

Date: 2022-05-15

Location: Richmond Hill (ON)

Scope: Explore Scientific ED80CF

Mount: Celestron AVX

Camera: ASI533MC PRO
Focuser: ZWO EAF

Software: FireCapture, AS!3 (30% images stacked from multiple 10 second videos), Registax, GIMP, PIPP (for the animated gif).