Jupiter 9-8-24

I learned a lot about planetary photography and image processing while making my moon photo in August, so I decided it was time to give Jupiter a try. (I did also collect data for Saturn, but it was underexposed.) My f/5 achromat refractor is better suited to deep space targets than planets, but I was able to borrow a 4x Powermate from a friend. The added weight really pushed the limits of my tracking mount (I have since made upgrades to my counterweight system that would have been helpful), but it enabled me to magnify Jupiter about as much as I could hope for with this telescope at better optical quality than a cheap barlow lens.

Technical details:

• Lens: SkyWatcher 120
• Camera: Nikon D3200
• Mount: SkyAdventurer 2i
• Optics: Tele Vue 4x Powermate
• Exposure: 2m55s(~5200 frames)x1/160s at ISO200
• Pre-processing: VirtualDub64, PIPP
• Stacking: AutoStakkert 3
• Post-processing: RegiStax 6, PhotoScape X, Lightroom

Notes for improvement:

• As discussed above, my optics are not the best for this type of imaging. Because of this, the quality of the data was fairly low.
• I picked a compromise between sharpness, noise reduction, detail, and color balance. There are some imperfections that may or may not be fixable with better editing.