bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Mounted a Bresser MC-100 scope and QHY 183C camera on an Evolution mount and shot some video of Saturn with and without a 2.5x PowerMate. I consider 3500mm about the highest focal length my sky conditions will handle; probably a lot more than my sky will allow! 1400mm is likely about the highest reasonable power.

I shot 2000 frames of video with and without the PowerMate. I used the best 50 frames of each session to create the attached images.

I used PIPP to do the quality accessment and ImagePlus to do the alignment and stacking.

Just for the heck of it I enlarged the 1400mm image by 6x in Topaz GigaPixel, per the last image.

Enjoy!

bwa

Without the 2.5x PowerMate (1400mm)


With a 2.5x PowerMate (3500mm)


1400mm image - 6x in Topaz GigaPixel

Photomac Loc: The Dalles, Or

I'm not into this type of photography because its really expensive with high tech equipment, you have to do it at night, usually late and I'm not sure what you can do with the images, other than a few prints. Having reviewed you tech material, I guess I'm wondering why the blurry images?? I understand the issues of looking through the atmosphere what with particulates, weather, temperatures, wind and other intermediate factors in space that are unknown. But, I can get this same image with my old fashion B&L spotting scope at 60x, visually. I haven't tried attaching a camera. Just wondering as a ole man hobbyist.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

The more you push the focal length the harder it is to get a sharp image, particularly with the rocking and rolling atmosphere on the eastern slopes of the Rockies. 3500mm is well beyond what my atmospheric conditions can handle! 1000-1500mm is about the max.. 400-600mm is what I normally shot astrophotography at; works with an atmosphere of 1.5-2.0 arcsec/pixel.

The attached image of Saturn is one I shot several years ago on a night when the atmosphere was the quietest I've ever encountered in the past 30 years. I probably won't see another night like that in my lifetime!?

bwa