TOP 10 Tips to PHOTOGRAPH the PLANETS with a TELESCOPE

[@KevinMcDaniel4304]

These were some very good tips. Thanks for sharing!

[@AstroForumSpace]

You are so welcome!

[@perry3928]

Thanks Wido. Still learning. Great content.

[@AstroForumSpace]

Glad to hear it! Clear skies Perry.

[@fblin2000]

Thanks for sharing, it’s a great help!!

[@avt_astro206]

Great Tips Wido!! I have a 6 inch Newt and ZWO ASI 224mc Which I Use for Planetary Imaging! My Astrophotography Setup! Informative Video As Always!

[@AstroForumSpace]

Sounds great! The tips are just that, tips. I started with a small refractor telescope aimed at Jupiter and was already amazed to see the cloud bands! Happy hunting!

[@bazpearce9993]

I'd like to add an equipment tip if i may. Filters are a good way to enhance your pictures. An IR/UV cut can help with contrast and colour depth. An IR pass will help bring out more detail in Jupiter's bands. They can also help with low planets in a turbulent atmosphere, and give daylight Moon captures more contrast and fine detail.

[@AstroForumSpace]

Thank you Baz! I've tried the IR/UV cut and it helps. Clear skies.

[@OlliesSpace]

Great walkthrough of tips Wido.

[@AstroForumSpace]

TX 4 joining the live stream Ollie! Trying to catch some of that oiii. Should be going to bed...

[@OlliesSpace]

@@AstroForumSpace Always enjoy the streams. We have a clear night tonight hoping to try get maybe some data on Omega and Sculptor Galaxy if I'm lucky.Good luck with that oiii, hope you get a good Crescent.

[@ryanbanasik8608]

Thank you for this. I am completely new to this hobby. I am looking to get a Celestron 8" Edge. It looks like to me that working with the software can be difficult to learn. I will probably need someone right there to help me.

[@Mobius3c273]

Hi Wido, in #6 where planets near the horizon I think it is worth mentioning using an atmospheric disperser corrector, ie an ADC device. They are useful.

[@martynh5410]

Nice and clear tutorial video Wido! All points that you made, I totally agree with you. Soon after getting my scope I made some okay planetary video’s and processed images last year. I used SharpCap, PPIP, AutoStakkert and Registax. One issue I found was when doing a time lapse of Mars over a couple of hours to show its planetary rotation. The Celestron alt/Az mount tracked the planet well but each image (taken every 10 minutes) had to be manually rotated to compensate for the Earths rotation. I know an Eq mount would have not required that extra step.

[@AstroForumSpace]

Thanks for this valuable additional info on alt-az mounts Martyn, hope you're fine and get PHD2 working. I remembered another hick-up...I first tried to use a USB hub to connect my guidecam for guiding. For some reason that didn't work...using a direct cable from my guidecam to my PC solved that issue. Hope this helps.

[@AstroForumSpace]

Hi Martyn, I'm looking into the nexstar evoluation line - I think these are all alt-az based mounts right? You could buy a wedge with them for deep-sky but it would lack an auto-guiding option i think. Is that correct?

[@martynh5410]

@@AstroForumSpace my telescope is the Celestron Nexstar Evolution 8 EdgeHD. It comes with the single arm go-to mount. It works well just like that for planetary imaging and visual use with eyepieces. The alt/az go-to mount works well and mine came with StarSense which automatically aligns the scope in about 5 minutes. Select a star or object with the Celestron App on a smart phone or tablet and the scope aligns itself with that object. Lots of fun. I did find that this mount limits the exposure times to maybe 10 to 15 seconds and that limits DSO Astro photography. I bought the wedge for mine and shave since added a guidescope and guide camera. I finally got the system to guide using PHD2. So now it’s guiding like an Eq mount but it is heavy and cumbersome. Don’t you already have an 8 EdgeHD OTA on an Eq mount? I don’t see your need to get the Nexstar scope on the single fork Alt/Az mount.

[@AstroForumSpace]

​@@martynh5410 Hi Martyn, thanks a lot for the info! I'm trying to make a video on planetary imaging where I also discuss telescopes and mounts. I noticed that Celestron sells the nexstar evolution (and CPC) in combination with either regular SCT's or the EDGE HD version. I also noticed that these mounts have an autoguiding port, so I wondered if this - in combination with a wedge - would be an acceptable replacement for EQ mounts...probably not, but I was surpised to see an autoguider option on an alt-az system.

[@martynh5410]

@@AstroForumSpace You’ll see a video I did soon after I bought my alt/az mounted EdgeHD and a cheap camera (Sv305) here on KZbin. I think it’s called “Images Though My Celestron Evolution 8 Telescope”. It includes Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. There’s a topic called “Guiding Alt-Az mounts with PHD2” in Cloudy Nights Forum that you might find interesting reading. I’ve been posting pictures on Cloudy Nights but lately been trying some DSO targets and doing simple EAA (no post processing at all). Check out the “EAA Image Gallery”. I’m “Eclipsed” on the CN forum. Cheers from Ohio!

[@jiffijoff9780]

Hi Wido, thanks for providing such useful and greatly presented informations. I just recently got a tracking goto mount (Bresser Exos 2) and will start by using existing photogear. I'm especially curious what's possible with the m43 gear like a G9 + 150/2.8 (300mm equiv) or up to 400mm (800mm equiv). In case you are planing to offer 1:1 workshops I'd be pretty interested. 👍🍻 (either remote, or who knows, face to face, once the current circumstances slowly fade off)

[@AstroForumSpace]

Great to hear! I'll consider it. If you have additional questions let me know. You can send me a DM on @astroforum on instagram. Clear skies!

[@GarnettLeary]

Alt-az field rotation is a nightmare for high detail work and time lapse. That’s a very important note regarding eq vs alt-az.

[@AstroForumSpace]

Thanks for this addition Gary. I was wondering about that. Clear skies!

[@SunilSharma-wl5op]

Nice one👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@AstroForumSpace]

Thank you!

[@indysbike3014]

Can the rolling shutter on a dslr be a problem for planets? I have a A6400 and the rolling shutter in 4K is pretty bad. When you pan or shake the camera the image gets wobbly (just like bad atmospheric conditions). The readout speed is 1/22s.

[@AstroForumSpace]

Can you bring the resolution down? You don't need 4k to capture the camera, that may also increase your speed to capture more frames. You can also try to use autostakkert to stabilize and stack your frames across images to deal with the wobbling.

[@marked4death076]

Im still trying to hold my phone camera up to eyepiece of my scope hahaha i have managed to get one... ONE awesome pic of Jupiter and few of the moon

[@AstroForumSpace]

That's how I got started, keep looking up 😉

[@tuccdo]

Firecapture download is being blocked by my browser and antivirus as "unsafe".

[@AstroForumSpace]

Sharpcap is a good alternative