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Meade Pictor 416XT and Mars
I hope I post this to the correct group.
I have access to a 12" Meade LX200 telescope that is located at a very good site. Also available is a Meade Pictor 416XT CCD camera which I have used on several occasions. About two weeks ago I tried to image Mars which turned out to be way too bright since severe blooming occured even at the shortest shutter speed of 5 milliseconds. Last Friday evening I tried again but this time I also used Optec's filters in conjunction with the CCD camera that made a huge difference in terms of the fact that no blooming occured, except when really overexposing the CCD. What was rather disappointing is that at the best focus I just couldn't see any surface features of Mars while I expected to see something. The planet just remained a white blob on the screen. Can I expect to see any surface features or not? This is the case in all the filters that I used viz Johnson BVR. I shall appreciate any advice. Thanks Johan van der Walt Potchefstroom South Africa |
#2
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Meade Pictor 416XT and Mars
You should definitely be able to see surface features. Very often focus
is the most difficult part. Plus you should be aligning and stacking the results of many shots to get the best results. But I have no knowledge of that camera and its sensitivity. Perhaps denser filters are the answer. Phil Johan van der Walt wrote: I hope I post this to the correct group. I have access to a 12" Meade LX200 telescope that is located at a very good site. Also available is a Meade Pictor 416XT CCD camera which I have used on several occasions. About two weeks ago I tried to image Mars which turned out to be way too bright since severe blooming occured even at the shortest shutter speed of 5 milliseconds. Last Friday evening I tried again but this time I also used Optec's filters in conjunction with the CCD camera that made a huge difference in terms of the fact that no blooming occured, except when really overexposing the CCD. What was rather disappointing is that at the best focus I just couldn't see any surface features of Mars while I expected to see something. The planet just remained a white blob on the screen. Can I expect to see any surface features or not? |
#3
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Meade Pictor 416XT and Mars
Are you using any barlow lens? The image will be too small and too
bright at prime focus. You may use a barlow lens or eyepiece projection to enlarge the image. C. H. Yeung Johan van der Walt wrote: I hope I post this to the correct group. I have access to a 12" Meade LX200 telescope that is located at a very good site. Also available is a Meade Pictor 416XT CCD camera which I have used on several occasions. About two weeks ago I tried to image Mars which turned out to be way too bright since severe blooming occured even at the shortest shutter speed of 5 milliseconds. Last Friday evening I tried again but this time I also used Optec's filters in conjunction with the CCD camera that made a huge difference in terms of the fact that no blooming occured, except when really overexposing the CCD. What was rather disappointing is that at the best focus I just couldn't see any surface features of Mars while I expected to see something. The planet just remained a white blob on the screen. Can I expect to see any surface features or not? This is the case in all the filters that I used viz Johnson BVR. I shall appreciate any advice. Thanks Johan van der Walt Potchefstroom South Africa |
#4
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Meade Pictor 416XT and Mars
Are you using any barlow lens? The image will be too small and too
bright at prime focus. You may use a barlow lens or eyepiece projection to enlarge the image. C. H. Yeung Johan van der Walt wrote: I hope I post this to the correct group. I have access to a 12" Meade LX200 telescope that is located at a very good site. Also available is a Meade Pictor 416XT CCD camera which I have used on several occasions. About two weeks ago I tried to image Mars which turned out to be way too bright since severe blooming occured even at the shortest shutter speed of 5 milliseconds. Last Friday evening I tried again but this time I also used Optec's filters in conjunction with the CCD camera that made a huge difference in terms of the fact that no blooming occured, except when really overexposing the CCD. What was rather disappointing is that at the best focus I just couldn't see any surface features of Mars while I expected to see something. The planet just remained a white blob on the screen. Can I expect to see any surface features or not? This is the case in all the filters that I used viz Johnson BVR. I shall appreciate any advice. Thanks Johan van der Walt Potchefstroom South Africa |
#5
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Meade Pictor 416XT and Mars
Here's a small check list.
If you are having a blooming problem, stop down your telescope, build a cardboard cover and place a 3" or 4" diameter hole off center. That should cut back the amount of light to the camera. Also for other problems.... Is you telescope properly collimated? Has your telescope cooled sufficiently? How is the seeing? Is there any wind? 12"LX200's are quite shaky. You will need to stack and combine multiple images to get results you see from others. The Pictor has a design flaw for Planetary imaging. The Shutter. CCD cameras without shutters work better, as they cause no shaking. For more info Check out http://perso.club-internet.fr/legault/index.html Paul Gitto The Arcturus Observatory (H92) http://cometman.com "Johan van der Walt" wrote in message ... I hope I post this to the correct group. I have access to a 12" Meade LX200 telescope that is located at a very good site. Also available is a Meade Pictor 416XT CCD camera which I have used on several occasions. About two weeks ago I tried to image Mars which turned out to be way too bright since severe blooming occured even at the shortest shutter speed of 5 milliseconds. Last Friday evening I tried again but this time I also used Optec's filters in conjunction with the CCD camera that made a huge difference in terms of the fact that no blooming occured, except when really overexposing the CCD. What was rather disappointing is that at the best focus I just couldn't see any surface features of Mars while I expected to see something. The planet just remained a white blob on the screen. Can I expect to see any surface features or not? This is the case in all the filters that I used viz Johnson BVR. I shall appreciate any advice. Thanks Johan van der Walt Potchefstroom South Africa |
#6
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Meade Pictor 416XT and Mars
Here's a small check list.
If you are having a blooming problem, stop down your telescope, build a cardboard cover and place a 3" or 4" diameter hole off center. That should cut back the amount of light to the camera. Also for other problems.... Is you telescope properly collimated? Has your telescope cooled sufficiently? How is the seeing? Is there any wind? 12"LX200's are quite shaky. You will need to stack and combine multiple images to get results you see from others. The Pictor has a design flaw for Planetary imaging. The Shutter. CCD cameras without shutters work better, as they cause no shaking. For more info Check out http://perso.club-internet.fr/legault/index.html Paul Gitto The Arcturus Observatory (H92) http://cometman.com "Johan van der Walt" wrote in message ... I hope I post this to the correct group. I have access to a 12" Meade LX200 telescope that is located at a very good site. Also available is a Meade Pictor 416XT CCD camera which I have used on several occasions. About two weeks ago I tried to image Mars which turned out to be way too bright since severe blooming occured even at the shortest shutter speed of 5 milliseconds. Last Friday evening I tried again but this time I also used Optec's filters in conjunction with the CCD camera that made a huge difference in terms of the fact that no blooming occured, except when really overexposing the CCD. What was rather disappointing is that at the best focus I just couldn't see any surface features of Mars while I expected to see something. The planet just remained a white blob on the screen. Can I expect to see any surface features or not? This is the case in all the filters that I used viz Johnson BVR. I shall appreciate any advice. Thanks Johan van der Walt Potchefstroom South Africa |
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