Best way to photograph/image Mars

Hello Group,

During the last Mars opposition I was able to take some digital photos
of Mars by coupling my Canon Powershot non-SLR camera to the eyepiece
using a bracket designed for this purpose.

For this next opposition I would like to get better photo/images than
just single exposure photos. I am looking for advice as to what
system/camera I should try.

Here are some of my constraints:

I have an equatorial tracking mount for the 4" refractor I'll be
using. I am anticipating a trip to Phoenix over x-mas so my travel
setup will be limited to an alt-az mount (no tracking). It would be
nice if I could collect several images of Mars before it drifts out of
my field of view while using the alt-az mount on this trip.

I have a laptop.

Right off I am not interested in buying a digital SLR....although
perhaps the cost of a system may approach the cost of a digital SLR
which may make it the best option.

I was looking at Meade's DSI pro cameras. Would they work for me?
Does anyone have any suggesions? I have a feeling that there is no
"best" solution......but whatever I come up with here may be of some
help to others.

I also don't want to sink too much money into this effort and my time
is limited.....I just would like to get a couple pictures of Mars that
are better than what I acheived last year.

Thanks in advance,
Scott

wrote:
Hello Group,

During the last Mars opposition I was able to take some digital photos
of Mars by coupling my Canon Powershot non-SLR camera to the eyepiece
using a bracket designed for this purpose.

For this next opposition I would like to get better photo/images than
just single exposure photos. I am looking for advice as to what
system/camera I should try.

Here are some of my constraints:

I have an equatorial tracking mount for the 4" refractor I'll be
using. I am anticipating a trip to Phoenix over x-mas so my travel
setup will be limited to an alt-az mount (no tracking). It would be
nice if I could collect several images of Mars before it drifts out of
my field of view while using the alt-az mount on this trip.

I have a laptop.

Right off I am not interested in buying a digital SLR....although
perhaps the cost of a system may approach the cost of a digital SLR
which may make it the best option.

I was looking at Meade's DSI pro cameras. Would they work for me?
Does anyone have any suggesions? I have a feeling that there is no
"best" solution......but whatever I come up with here may be of some
help to others.

I also don't want to sink too much money into this effort and my time
is limited.....I just would like to get a couple pictures of Mars that
are better than what I acheived last year.

Thanks in advance,
Scott

Hi Scott,

If you will be taking your laptop with you, I would think your best bet
is to buy yourself something like a Philips web cam, a 1.25" adaptor and
some software for processing. You total outlay would be quite small in
comparison to a Meade DSI, which is aimed at deep sky work and not
really ideal for planetary work.

Regards,
John.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello Group,

During the last Mars opposition I was able to take some digital photos
of Mars by coupling my Canon Powershot non-SLR camera to the eyepiece
using a bracket designed for this purpose.

For this next opposition I would like to get better photo/images than
just single exposure photos. I am looking for advice as to what
system/camera I should try.

Here are some of my constraints:

I have an equatorial tracking mount for the 4" refractor I'll be
using. I am anticipating a trip to Phoenix over x-mas so my travel
setup will be limited to an alt-az mount (no tracking). It would be
nice if I could collect several images of Mars before it drifts out of
my field of view while using the alt-az mount on this trip.

I have a laptop.

Right off I am not interested in buying a digital SLR....although
perhaps the cost of a system may approach the cost of a digital SLR
which may make it the best option.

I was looking at Meade's DSI pro cameras. Would they work for me?
Does anyone have any suggesions? I have a feeling that there is no
"best" solution......but whatever I come up with here may be of some
help to others.

I also don't want to sink too much money into this effort and my time
is limited.....I just would like to get a couple pictures of Mars that
are better than what I acheived last year.

Thanks in advance,
Scott


Hi there, Scott:

I'd recommend Celestron's NexImage Solar System Imager, which is meant for
planterary photography. You can get it from Amazon.com for $99.95. I
bought one a couple of months ago. Installation is easy, and it comes with
Registax 4.0 for processing of your images. It's camera is the equivalent
of a 5mm eyepiece, which should tell you what magnification to expect.

Your field of view will be narrow at that high a magnification (on my 3.5"
refractor I get 200x with the camera) so you willl either want to gradually
step up to that magnification while keeping your target centered (this is
what I currently do), or buy the NexImage Reducer Lens which Celestron
claims will increase your FOV at least two times. (I haven't bought this
yet, so I can't attest to the accuracy of the claim.) This is also
available at Amazon for $23.77.

Scott,

If your Powershot has a video feature then you can shoot avi of Mars and
process them in Registax. I've done this with Saturn and the moon and have
been very happy with the results, considering the limitations.

Dan

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello Group,
which may make it the best option.

I was looking at Meade's DSI pro cameras. Would they work for me?
Does anyone have any suggesions? I have a feeling that there is no
"best" solution......but whatever I come up with here may be of some
help to others.

On 25 Apr 2007 09:28:18 -0700, wrote:

Here are some of my constraints:

I have an equatorial tracking mount for the 4" refractor I'll be
using. I am anticipating a trip to Phoenix over x-mas so my travel
setup will be limited to an alt-az mount (no tracking). It would be
nice if I could collect several images of Mars before it drifts out of
my field of view while using the alt-az mount on this trip.

This is a deal killer, IMO. You will be at high power and using a small
sensor. Tracking is mandatory. Bear in mind it doesn't have to be very
good tracking- a cheap equatorial mount with a single axis,
non-computerized drive is more than adequate. But without tracking, you
will be spending all your time trying to get the image on the chip, and
then you'll just get a few frames, not enough to use effectively. Figure
out a way to take a tracking mount.

It helps a lot that you'll be in a part of the country that often has
good seeing, but for the best results with video planetary imaging you
want hundreds of frames, if not thousands.

I have a laptop.

Right off I am not interested in buying a digital SLR....although
perhaps the cost of a system may approach the cost of a digital SLR
which may make it the best option.

That's good, because a DSLR is completely the wrong camera for planetary
imaging. You want an inexpensive webcam- I've had good luck with the
Celestron NexImage. Many Philips and Logitech webcams are also quite
good.


I was looking at Meade's DSI pro cameras. Would they work for me?

For planetary imaging, you would be better off with a simple webcam
(which will be a lot cheaper, too).

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello Group,

I was looking at Meade's DSI pro cameras. Would they work for
me?
Does anyone have any suggesions?

Aside from the suggestions for imagers by John, and John
Nichols
I would recommend a Baader IR blocking filter since you are
using a refractor.
--

Rick Evans
---------------------------------------------------------------
Lon -71° 04' 35.3"
Lat +42° 11' 06.7"
---------------------------------------------------------------
Webcam Astroimaging
http://mysite.verizon.net/hiltonevan...troimaging.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------
ChemPen Chemical Structure Software
http://www.chempensoftware.com

"Rick Evans" wrote in message
news:mlPXh.2634$YI1.60@trndny04...
wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello Group,

I was looking at Meade's DSI pro cameras. Would they work for me?
Does anyone have any suggesions?

Aside from the suggestions for imagers by John, and John Nichols
I would recommend a Baader IR blocking filter since you are
using a refractor.
--

Thanks for that suggestion, Rick.

I have to agree with Chris. To get good images of planets, you need
lots of magnification, which means you need to track, although all you
need there is an equatorial mount, good polar alignment, and a good
enough motor on the RA axis.

So unless the original poster can get this for his travel gear, forget
about imaging Mars. This is especially true because we're entering a
roughly one decade period where Mars is going to be VERY small even at
opposition.

--- Dave

Chris L Peterson wrote:
On 25 Apr 2007 09:28:18 -0700, wrote:

Here are some of my constraints:

I have an equatorial tracking mount for the 4" refractor I'll be
using. I am anticipating a trip to Phoenix over x-mas so my travel
setup will be limited to an alt-az mount (no tracking). It would be
nice if I could collect several images of Mars before it drifts out of
my field of view while using the alt-az mount on this trip.

This is a deal killer, IMO. You will be at high power and using a small
sensor. Tracking is mandatory. Bear in mind it doesn't have to be very
good tracking- a cheap equatorial mount with a single axis,
non-computerized drive is more than adequate. But without tracking, you
will be spending all your time trying to get the image on the chip, and
then you'll just get a few frames, not enough to use effectively. Figure
out a way to take a tracking mount.

It helps a lot that you'll be in a part of the country that often has
good seeing, but for the best results with video planetary imaging you
want hundreds of frames, if not thousands.

I have a laptop.

Right off I am not interested in buying a digital SLR....although
perhaps the cost of a system may approach the cost of a digital SLR
which may make it the best option.

That's good, because a DSLR is completely the wrong camera for planetary
imaging. You want an inexpensive webcam- I've had good luck with the
Celestron NexImage. Many Philips and Logitech webcams are also quite
good.


I was looking at Meade's DSI pro cameras. Would they work for me?

For planetary imaging, you would be better off with a simple webcam
(which will be a lot cheaper, too).

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

On Apr 25, 10:26 pm, David Nakamoto
wrote:
I have to agree with Chris. To get good images of planets, you need
lots of magnification, which means you need to track, although all you
need there is an equatorial mount, good polar alignment, and a good
enough motor on the RA axis.

So unless the original poster can get this for his travel gear, forget
about imaging Mars. This is especially true because we're entering a
roughly one decade period where Mars is going to be VERY small even at
opposition.

I've imaged Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with webcams (Vesta Pro,
QuickCam Pro 4000), and found tracking to be the hardest part.

The image scale means that even breathing on the camera
will make the image jump if your mount isn't very solid. I really
can't see it working with an altazimuth mount.

My first attempt at planetary imaging (Mars, 2003) was with
a 5" Synta refractor on an EQ-3 mount. This was sufficiently
character building that I ordered a G-11 the next day. It works
well, though it too needs careful polar alignment to keep the
target from drifting across the frame.

The camera is the least of your worries: if you can't acquire
and track Mars, it doesn't matter what you image it with.

Laura Halliday VE7LDH "Que les nuages soient notre
Grid: CN89mg pied a terre..."
ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W - Hospital/Shafte