Appologies if this isn’t the right community, but there isn’t really an r/astrophotography equivalent on Lemmy yet
Managed to get a good look at Saturn this past weekend, It’s not in an ideal position for viewing yet, but it was good enough to snag this picture
Taken with a ZWO ASI224MC on an 8 inch Dobsonian telescope with a 2x barlow. The effective magnification was around 265x and no tracking was used, so the frames were captured over a dozen or so recording sessions back to back where I’d position the telescope, let Saturn track across the sensor window.
Each recording session only lasted about 15s before Saturn would leave the sensor frame. The final image was processed from around 1,000 frames using AutoStakkert, then finished in GIMP.
For those unfamiliar, the process used to generate this one picture out of the 1,000 or so frames i originally had is called “stacking”. It essentially combines the best aspects of each frame to pull as much detail as possible from the whole collection, giving a final image which is significantly more detailed than any one of the original frames
You can make out some cloud bands and even the Cassini Division (that’s the gap between the outer-most ring and the inner ring sections). To give a sense of scale, our moon would comfortably fit within that gap with a 1000km to spare!
Hopefully later in the season when Saturn is at opposition I can grab an even higher quality version!
Fantastic! I tried so hard to get something similar with my dobsonian that my wife gifted me. I couldn’t manage it but I did get to see Saturn in all its glory. I felt like a wondrous child again.
Astronomy truly captivates the imagination.
I’d be happy to give you some pointers if you’d like! Just send me your gear and I’ll help how I can! I will say though, just seeing through an eyepiece is still my favorite bit of this hobby - I just like astrophotography because it let’s you share the wonder with others!