Michael A. Phillips' Astronomy Blog

Hi Res Ceres (Minor Planet / Asteroid)

2009-03-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

Link

I was inspired by Fabio Plocostomos and Chris Go's work on Ceres at high res and decided to go for it myself near opposition or good seeing. So that single 2 day break in rain and clouds a week ago yielded some good Venus and Saturn images and also this great view of Ceres.

I had a hard time finding some good ephemeris data for angular size so calculated it myself as follows:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_diameter

δ

= d / D, where

δ

is the angular size, d is visual diameter and D is the distance to the object.

So using the WRONG units I get:

1.64AU distance to Ceres and 950km diameter of Ceres gives 0.798".

I hope to not have overexposed the object which would have caused bloat or bloom in the data. I stretched in post processing and resized to 200%

Enjoy!

Mike

Titan Transit Teaser 20090224

2009-02-24T14:54:00.000-08:00

Observation logs

I think there's a name for titles like that, but at 25*F and early in the AM my brain's not so straight.

Bad seeing too.. looked like the whole continental US had bad jetstream. I hope someone west of here got better as it was fairly low on the horizon here.

I forgot about the time delay in stellarium but that was OK as I overslept a bit anyway. Most of the frames are washed out by the trees but you can make out the shadow in the final 3 or so frames. I also caught Dione in a few frames riding the upper left ring, long before it's transit. So no quad transit, but I was able to get something and that still counts! Lucky me, the sky was clear.

Animation from 1018 to 1114UT:

Object: Saturn and Titan

Planet

Origin:

ObservationManager - SolarSystem Catalog 1.0

Observer	Michael A. Phillips Mr.
Site	Home
Begin	2009-02-24 um 04:00:00-05:00
End	2009-02-24 um 04:10:00-05:00
Optics	C8i on CGE
Eyepiece	PowerMate (V=812.8)
Filter	Astronomik LRGB Color
Camera	DMK21AF04
Sitzung	2009-02-24 um 04:00:00-05:00

Visual impression

Titan transit!

References

Sessions: 2009-02-24 um 04:00:00-05:00

Begin:	2009-02-24 um 04:00:00-05:00
End:	2009-02-24 um 06:20:00-05:00

Weather:	Poor seeing Great transparency FREEZING 25*F
Equipment:	I used: Ubuntu 8.04 Linux and custom coriander CGE mounted 8" Celestron C8i SCT Lymax Cat Cooler DMK 21AF04 2.5x PowerMate Astronomik LRGB filters True Tek Color Filter Wheel with visu diag
Comments:	Didn't leave the scope out overnight and it may have impacted some but little of the conditions. I miss timed the Titan Transit becuase of the time delay / light propogation issues with Stellarium. I fixed that now1

>> Observations <<

Observer: Michael A. Phillips Mr.

>> Observations <<

Site: Home

Longitude:	35.682°
Latitude:	-78.743°
Timezone:	UT-300 min

>> Observations <<

Optics: C8i on CGE

Type:	SCT
Vendor:	Celestron
Aperture:	203.0 mm
Focal length:	2032.0 mm

>> Observations <<

Eyepiece: PowerMate

Vendor:	TeleVue
Focal length:	2.5 mm

>> Observations <<

Filter: Astronomik LRGB

Typ:

Color

>> Observations <<

CCD Camera: DMK21AF04

Vendor:	The Image Source
Pixel:	640x480

Great seeing on Saturn 2009-02-07

2009-02-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

Best seeing I've seen since early September! I used the lymax cat cooler extensively, for 30-45 minutes at times. Re-collimated and ran some tests on the moon. Starting imaging long before Saturn hit the meridian and just before I got too tired to stay awake I tried a monster 5min per channel LRGB session. The CGE was up to the task and I had to do very little corrections. This is the result. My best of the season! I managed to catch at least two moons that I'll have to process seperatley and post later.

I was happy to see such steady seeing after an average start. Some things that I payed close attention to while processing: Shadow of rings on globe, shadow of globe on rings on lower right, Cassini division on both sides and growing gap between the rings.

Also, to all you youngin's out there (Hey, I'm a stark 33 stil!), when the seeing's good make sure you spend some time soaking the light of the object into your eyes. It's all to easy to get wrapped up imaging. I smiled big for the views on my screen but even more to see it sitting still in my 4mm and 9mm eyepieces!

Steady Skies,

Mike

My 1st light with the new setup - M81/M82

2009-02-06T12:55:00.000-08:00

Begin:	2009-02-04 um 20:08:01-05:00
End:	2009-02-04 um 23:59:00-05:00

Weather:	S:? T: 3?/5 Clear, cold and WINDY!
Equipment:	Optics: Meade LXD55 Mount: CGE mount on JMI Wheely Bars Focusing Aid: STI focuser Shutter control: Hap Griffin long exposure cable Software: MaximDL Operating System: WinXP Lenovo T43 driven via RDP from inside the house
Comments:	MY 1st light of the Meade LXD55 and CGE!!! What a pleasure to wheel the whole rig out of the garage into the driveway! Used my Celestron knowledge to get a rough align and was able to get fair results of 90sec+ exposures. At f/5 and ISO800 there is a LOT of LP Setup on M81 / M82 to get lots of subs, staying warm inside now as the outside temps dropped into the upper 20's Align was in the double digit of minutes error after a 2x iterative align. No PEC, no polar scope, no guiding, no drift align.

Details of the new setup here: http://maphilli14.multiply.com/photos/album/48/Astronomy_-_Equipment_-_DSO_Setup

"Near" the Apollo 11 Landing Site

2009-02-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

I think the forecast for the night was better than it actually was by a long shot. After checking the collimation I would have guessed it was 5-6/10, but looking at the focus/collimation test on Castor (great double BTW), it was a mere 4/10. I setup to grab Venus and the moon before a longish night on Saturn. One of my music buddies, John, suggested that the Apollo 11 landing site was in prime view and that I should try imaging it. I did and was happy to have a fresh target even though the seeing was poor, thanks John!

First a clean image:

Then one marked for reference:

I actually found the google moon maps useful, have a look and see if I got it or not!
http://www.google.com/moon/#lat=0.769019&lon=22.532958&zoom=7&apollo=

Mike

2008 Solary System Review

2009-01-23T15:53:00.000-08:00

I recall seeing a flurry of these 'composite' shots last year but not so many this year. I was keen on getting better Icy Giants and went after Uranus and Neptune with as much precision as I could. In all my hasty planning, I let Pluto slip away. It's still a planet in my book so I'll have to give it just desserts next year! I had some photos of the sun shining on the trees in my front yard and thought I'd add that to round it out, but you might find those on my homepage just as easily and I thought it would mess with the 'flow' of the sequence.

Hope you enjoy! Looking forward to 2009!

Mike

New home...

2009-01-22T08:15:00.000-08:00

I've tried to cross post interesting articles over here, but the bulk of my 'home' is now here:

http://maphilli14.multiply.com/

Mike

Michael A. Phillips' Planetary Processing Routine v7

2009-01-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

ORIGINAL WITH EDITS IS HERE: http://maphilli14.multiply.com/journal/item/37/Michael_A._Phillips_Planetary_Processing_Routine_version_7.0

Introduction
This is by no means a replacement to the tutorials I learned the most from such as Mike Salway's (http://www.mikesalway.com.au/2008/08/26/planetary-imaging-and-image-processing) or Paul Haese's (http://paulhaese.net/planetaryprocessing.html). I am simply tuning, tweaking and automating some of the steps to suit my own taste and hope you find some ideas here to use for yourself!

Living document, I do plan in incorporating changes and suggestions over time and will reversion and date accordingly so please send feedback. Please critique, that's how we all get better!

All the routines in this HowTo use applications running on Linux, even the windows only software packages run under Wine (http://www.winehq.org) running under Linux. All of the video screencasts are recorded and produced using applications running on Linux. I am confident that all software and processes detailed in this HowTo can be run on MS Windows with one exception. The capture software I use, Coriander, will run only on Linux. Even some of the bash scripts may be run under Cygwin (http://www.cygwin.com/) although I've not tried myself. Never fear, the main method of this HowTo still applies to users running on MS Windows.

OK, HERE'S the SHORT METHOD!

Run your Planetary captures through ninox (http://acquerra.com.au/astro/software/ppmcentre/)

Move ninox sorted data through Registax
- Video Tutorial: Planteary Processing version 7 - Ninox to Registax

Move Registax stacked data to Iris for RGB Combine and processing.

Acquisition
1. My equipment consists of
  1. I use a Celestron C8i SE (orange tube)
  2. Ubuntu 8.04 Linux and custom coriander (for firewire cameras)
  3. DMK 21AF04 (Firewire)
  4. 2.5x PowerMate
  5. Astronomik LRGB filters
  6. True Tek Color Filter Wheel with visu diag and PC serial cable (USB-to-Serial)
  7. some shots here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/maphilli14/MichaelAPhillipsAstronomyEquipment#5244213374458800210

http://picasaweb.google.com/maphilli14/MichaelAPhillipsAstronomyEquipment#5244213381800624706

Once everything is connected up I follow the 'custom coriander 1.0.0' modified by Anthony Wesley (aka Bird - http://acquerra.com.au/astro/software/coriander/ ). This document is a work in progress and you may email me for a preview!
After completing your captures you may move onto the next section that moves data from 'transit' to 'sorted'. It is important to note that this coriander outputs a static image stream not a .avi or video file. This saves me a step extracting the movie to images later on!

Ninox
1. I prepare all captured source images that are really .fit files by passing it through ninox (http://acquerra.com.au/astro/software/ppmcentre/) to sort and crop the images and then output to a new subdirectory called 'sorted' The full script is a bash script and can be found here:
2. http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2c029c78ccec6d383eb48d43a6cb8a62606ebfa4f4a2d337
  1. I'm working on a newer version of this script that will read the capture directories and use them to create all the sorted, ninox folders. Per these guidelines (http://maphilli14.blogspot.com/2008/01/tips-on-organizing-your-computer.html). When done I will revise this blog per v7.1 :)
3. The key ninox syntax is:
  1. ninox -width=300 -height=300 -cutx=300 -cuty=300 -qestimator -qrenumber -outdir=Astronomy/Sorted/2-Scratch/Jupiter-$1/$2 /Astronomy/Transit/1-Corianders/$1/$2
    - This, “-width=300 -height=300 -cutx=300 -cuty=300” crops the images to a square 300x300 pixel size
    - This “-qestimator -qrenumber” sorts the data and renumbers the images based on quality
    - This “-outdir=Astronomy/Sorted/2-Scratch/Jupiter-$1/$2 /Astronomy/Transit/1-Corianders/$1/$2” allows me to specify a new folder in a sorted (not transit) folder for safer keeping. The $1 and $2 are the arguments passed to the script at runtime in which $1 is the ISO date that coriander writes ( IE 20081122) and $2 is the UTC time (IE 001122UTC).

Registax
- NOTE at as of 2008.12.12 - I was unable to get AviStack to load the .fit files that I work with. A shame too as the batch mode looks VERY promising!
1. Double Click for widescreen video or press the links below
2. 1. Widescreen version on YouTube is here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrFcvwTjdbI
  2. Full Resolution AVI (DivX 1280 x 768) version can be found here - http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2c029c78ccec6d383eb48d43a6cb8a62606ebfa4f4a2d337
3. Drag & Drop into Registax
4. Switch align mode from “Default (single)” to none. No align, no reference.
  1. Locate a good cutoff point by moving the frame slider at the bottom left and right. Good frames are on the left and bad frames on the right. For example I typically stack the good frames on the 'left', typically 500 of the total 1500.
  2. Now hit the limit button to trim out the bad frames on the 'right' that will not be stacked.
5. Notice that after hitting the limit button you will skip the Optimize tab and go directly to the stack tab. At the stack tab simply hit the stack button. Ninox has already sorted and aligned the data so there is no reason to have registax do it again. Some folks believe that ninox's alignment is actually better and or more efficient than registax's.
6. After stacking you are at the wavelet phase. I typically apply 3 schemes much like a Small, Medium and Large drink sizing.
  1. No wavelets or a raw stack. This is my small wavelets scheme, denoted as R0.tif (Where R is the color, like R,G or B)
  2. Mike Salway's scheme (http://www.mikesalway.com.au/2008/08/26/planetary-imaging-and-image-processing) This is my medium wavelets scheme, denoted as R7.tif
    - 3 @ 10.5, 4 @ 15.2, 5 @ 16.5.
  3. And something I call Ice 150% Which is basically about 50% more than the medium scheme listed above. This is my v7 (large) wavelets scheme, denoted as R71.tif
    - 3 @ 15.2, 4 @ 22.6, 5 @ 24.6.

Net net is that you've got to find a sweet spot for your optics, conditions and taste.
If you save the files to the hhmmssUTC name (Up one folder when hitting the save button and has the numbered filter subdirectories under it), with the x7.tif filenames then you can use this bash script (http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2c029c78ccec6d383eb48d43a6cb8a62606ebfa4f4a2d337) to slide the Registax files into Iris and back again in a pretty cool manner. When using this script, first verify the directory locations agree with your Registax and Iris working directories. This step is an optimization when working with many files and not completely necessary, as you can move the files manually.

RGB combining in Iris.
1. Download Iris (http://www.astrosurf.com/buil/us/iris/iris.htm) and set the Iris scripts and working path locations.
  1. File → Settings:

File Type to PIC
Working Folder → “YOUR FOLDER” (such as C:\astronomy\temp\irisscratch 2000-01-01\)

Loading a test file, File → Open. Find a file processed in Registax .tif format
Load each channel into Iris
1. Adjust visu levels via the thresholds
  - Move the top slider right towards 30,000+
2. Set mono

adjust wavelets (slight)
- Processing → Wavelet...
Save as new, R7.PIC in Iris' Working Folder location (C:\astronomy\temp\irisscratch 2000-01-01\)

Iris LRGB (trichro) function to assemble as RGB
1. View LRGB and set channels to:
  - Red: R7
  - Green: G7
  - Blue: B7
2. APPLY! COOL!
3. The section with video below details how to fine tune the alignment of the channels.
Now lets look at how to automate this
1. PART 1 Introduction
  - Widescreen version on YouTube is here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNdst4pfPzY
  - HD Flash video (1280x768) on Vimeo is here - http://vimeo.com/2385460
  - Full Resolution AVI (DivX 1280 x 768) version of all Three Parts can be found here - http://www.mediafire.com/?ytwl9t21dyj
2. PART 2 RGB Combine Options
  - Widescreen version on YouTube is here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYO2blmTpHE
  - HD Flash video (1280x768) on Vimeo is here - N/A
  - Full Resolution AVI (DivX 1280 x 768) version of all Three Parts can be found here - http://www.mediafire.com/?ytwl9t21dyj
3. PART 3 Post Processing Options
  - Widescreen version on YouTube is here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtnocoWH9jM
  - HD Flash video (1280x768) on Vimeo is here - N/A
  - Full Resolution AVI (DivX 1280 x 768) version of all Three Parts can be found here - http://www.mediafire.com/?ytwl9t21dyj
4. Set the Iris scripts and working path locations.
  - File → Settings:

File Type to PIC
Script Path → “YOUR FOLDER” (such as C:\astronomy\permanent\scripts\iris\)
Place the planet.pgm (http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2c029c78ccec6d383eb48d43a6cb8a62606ebfa4f4a2d337) file here C:\astronomy\permanent\scripts\iris\
Working Folder → “YOUR FOLDER” (such as C:\astronomy\temp\irisscratch 2000-01-01\)
Copy the file names R7.tif (Red Channel), G7.tif (Green Channel) and B7.tif (Blue Channel) to the Iris “Working Path” folder

Bring up an Iris command prompt by clicking this button

Now type the command, “run planet” VIOLA!!!

Fine tuning of the separate RGB channel alignment:
1. View LRGB and set channels to:
  - Red: R7
  - Green: G7
  - Blue: B7
2. Apply
3. Now set the step to 10
4. Set the channel you wish to move via the radio button

Use the arrows in the upper right to move the channel around relative to the other channels.
Change the Step value to something smaller or larger based on your needs
When done, click OK
Save as the format you like.

Processing in Iris
1. Wavelets
  1. Processing → Wavelets...
  2. Typically I apply a very small scheme such as....

Unsharp mask
1. Processing → Unsharp Mask
2. This can make the data over processed quickly so be careful. You will have an opportunity to remove noise or oversharpening in the next step

Blur
1. Processing → Blur Filter...
2. Sometimes I add the full amount in the 1^st run and have to run it again iteratively.

Iris resize and or final visu levels - save as .bmp for sending to gimp (anyone know any gimp/iris compatible formats, let me know!) and .jpg for web
There is a great whitebalance option available by using the mouse to select a portion of the image that 'should be' white. Then in the command window type 'white'. You may also tweak via the "View -> White Balance Adjustment". The same can be done for setting a black background. The video shows this well!
1. I have another Iris script that runs here to save as a variety of formats. These then get picked up by the bash script waiting for us. The data then returns to the 4-TempStacked folder.
  - Run iris7 (savejpg “name” 1) etc...

ENJOY and PLEASE COMMENT!!!

MS Windows Addendum:

Carried forward from my v5 routine.

Batch .avi to .bmp conversion:

Use VirtualDub to convert/extract the .avi video to .bmp still images:

Download script here for windows: http://www.ericphelps.com/scripting/samples/VirtualDub/index.html

Load job in Vdub

Now back to Ninox Sorting in section 3

all the Red, Green and Blue files are mixed in the same directory. Here's an example script to sort into subdirectories. My IC Capture filenames might not match yours, but have a look.

Sort by rgb capture via bash script

Bash script that sorts LRGB image series into sub-folders for organization and processing - http://www.mediafire.com/?2jmfkmxmnxe

To be honest, I hate looking at the script now to figure out how to explain what it does.

I recall chaning directories into the mess of RGB files and running this with the variables described in the top of the script!

ENJOY and PLEASE COMMENT!!!

NGC 891

2009-01-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

I keep pushing my mostly stock C8i SE. A few nights ago I actually managed to get decent tracking for over 3 hours. I was able to salvage ~170 x 60s subs for a not so bad shot.

Hope you like my humble attempt, I was pretty impressed as I think galaxies are on the harder side to capture, unguided on an unmodded DSLR?!

Adding a Clear Sky Clock widget/screenlet to Linux

2008-12-19T02:28:00.000-08:00

I had to spend some time on this one, but I'm very happy with the results.

I use Ubuntu Linux, but I'm sure this will work for any distribution that supports screenlets.

1) Install Screenlets - http://www.screenlets.org/index.php/Download

2) Add the Widget Screenlet via - http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/show.php?content=70799&vote=good&tan=90243706

3) Create a new .html from the attachment and save it into the ~/.screenlets/Widget/widgets/ folder. You may wish to edit the site for your specific location. I had to browse the img source to find the proper URL.

4) Use screenlets to add the new CSC to your desktop and then change the widget to the newly created CSC.html file.

Also note that I set the widget to a meta refresh of 2 hours too!!!

ENJOY!

Mike

2008-09-01 Jupiter

2008-10-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

Observation logs

Object: Jupiter

Planet

Origin:

ObservationManager - SolarSystem Catalog 1.0

Observer	Michael A. Phillips Mr.
Site	Home
Begin	2008-09-01 um 21:00:00-05:00
End	2008-09-01 um 21:10:00-05:00
Optics	C8i
Eyepiece	PowerMate (V=812.8)
Filter	Astronomik LRGB Color
Camera	DMK21AF04
Sitzung	2008-09-01 um 21:00:00-05:00

Visual impression

tech error night, new laptop not up to snuff/not configured properly. Then crashed once on software capture error, then human error, accidentally hit sudo halt. :( Got good caps despite extreme drops in temp. Especailly after using the Lymax cat cooler again while recovering from errors. Used old setup and refocused to get pretty good data!

References

Sessions: 2008-09-01 um 21:00:00-05:00

Begin:	2008-09-01 um 21:00:00-05:00
End:	2008-09-01 um 23:30:00-05:00

Weather:	Awesome high pressure in place for next 3 days just before TS Hanna S: 7-8/10 T: 4/5
Equipment:	I used: Ubuntu 8.04 Linux and custom coriander 8" Celestron C8i SCT DMK 21AF04 2.5x PowerMate Astronomik LRGB filters True Tek Color Filter Wheel with visu diag
Comments:	Tested custom coriander on T61 (Cepheus) with no success this night.

>> Observations <<

Observer: Michael A. Phillips Mr.

>> Observations <<

Site: Home

Longitude:	35.682°
Latitude:	-78.743°
Timezone:	UT-300 min

>> Observations <<

Optics: C8i

Type:	SCT
Vendor:	Celestron
Aperture:	203.0 mm
Focal length:	2032.0 mm

>> Observations <<

Eyepiece: PowerMate

Vendor:	TeleVue
Focal length:	2.5 mm

>> Observations <<

Filter: Astronomik LRGB

Typ:

Color

>> Observations <<

CCD Camera: DMK21AF04

Vendor:	The Image Source
Pixel:	640x480

>> Observations <<

Created: 10/02/2008 22:23:47

Jupiter animation from 2008-08-05: from 0218 to 0403 UT

2008-08-07T10:11:00.001-07:00

Quickly processed animation of 18 frames from about 6 minutes apart and 60s per RGB-channel each

Old, Old, OLD Pluto posting

2008-06-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

Cleaning house and getting organized!

http://www.geocities.com/maphilli14/Astronomy/pluto/index.html

Enjoy!

Mike

Mars Before and After the Phoenix Lander

2008-05-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

While I didn't manage image anything as stunning as NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spotting the lander's decent with the chute. Nor did I manage to spot the features around the landing site as it was on the night-time side of Mars at the time of both my captures. I did manage to get 2 shots of Mars on two consecutive nights. One just before the Phoenix Lander's successful arrival and the next night just after the arrival.

Bad haze and clouds rolled in just as the 2nd night's capture began while my friend Robert Kintner and I setup for an observing session at my house.

Thanks for looking!

Mike

Saturn's Encaldus Transit in poor seeing 2008-04-25

2008-04-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

It has been a poor winter and early spring for Astronomy, so I've been trying to take what I can get. Fighting poor (1/5) transparency and hazy clouds, I think I managed to eek out a portion of the Enceladus transit.

First is a simulation from Cartes du Ceil. (Click on for 2frame animation of what I think I've captured).

Next a still view of both times from the animation.

Thirdly, a composite of moons including Mimas (look closely near upper left of rings.

With labels of what I think i see (please post a response to let me know what you see)

My Flash Animation.
http://www.geocities.com/maphilli14/Astronomy/Saturn/Saturn-080425-Animation.html

Happy hunting!

Mike

Having fun with some bad seeing on Saturn

2008-04-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

Trying to make the best out of some bad weather here. I played around with a lousy Saturn capture and uploaded the raw video to YouTube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3D2ITxaXlDw

And Posted my processed image on my Picasa Photo page:

http://picasaweb.google.com/maphilli14/MichaelAPhillipsAstronomyMechanicsGallery/photo#5192603427829467522

and I'm tying it all together with my blog! A bit of a front end portal to my.... well... hobby.

MIke

My 1st Saturn Storm or Enceladus?

2008-03-31T19:29:00.000-07:00

The famous STrZ White Oval of '08:

http://www.geocities.com/maphilli14/Astronomy/Saturn/Saturn-080309-Animation.html

This may also be Enceladus? Can someone verify based on the following WIMP stats for each time?

Time 1: 2008-03-10 0258UT

Time 2: 2008-03-10 0338UT

DMK Planetary settings in IC Capture

2008-03-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

Best Jupiter: RGB, 60s per ch
RG = 1/15s @ 15fps
R Gain 811
G Gain 809
B Gamma = 10 (off)

B = 1/8s @ 7.5fps
B7 Gain = 931
B Gamma = 10 (off)

or

B = 1/15s @ 15fps
B15 Gain 985
B Gamma = 10 (off)

=========================================

Best Mars: RGB, 75s per ch
RGB = 1/30s @ 30fps
R Gain 645
G Gain 716
B Gamma = 10 (off)

B = 1/15s @ 15fps
B15 Gain = 782
B Gamma = 10 (off)

or

B = 1/30s @ 30fps
B30 Gain 796
B Gamma = 10 (off)

=========================================

Best Saturn: LRGB, 2000-3000frames per channel or 2min per?
Lum Moons = 1/4s @ 3.75fps
L Moons Gain = 1023 (full)
Gamma = 12 (~20%)

Lum 1/30s @ 30fps
L Gain = 935
B Gamma = 10 (off)

R 1/15s @ 15fps
R Gain = 1016
B Gamma = 10 (off)

G 1/8s @ 7.5fps
G Gain = 926
B Gamma = 10 (off)

B 1/8s @ 7.5fps
B Gain = 1023 (full)
B Gamma = 11

B 1/4s @ 3.75fps
B Gain = 877
B Gamma = 10 (off)

DMK 21AF04 via Linux Coriander and IC Capture FPS expermientation

2008-02-24T08:29:00.000-08:00

Ubuntu Linux and Coriander

I'm looking into alternatives for using my DMK in a Linux environment.
So far I've looked at UCView (http://www.astronomycamerasblog.com/category/software-linux/) and Coriander (the Anthony Wesley version - http://acquerra.com.au/astro/software/coriander/)

What I'm noticing is that the settings I'm used to using:

1/8s @ 7.5fps
1/15s @ 15fps
..
1/60s ...

are not working properly in Coriander. I seem to be able to get 60fps properly (in a 60s capture I get about 3500+ frames of a theoretical 3600 frames). What's not working are 30fps and 15 fps. Is soon as I setup values lower than 1/30s @ 30fps it drops to 20fps. Which in and of itself is a setting I cannot get in IC capture on the same laptop (Thinkpad T60P). However, I'm stuck not being able to get values between 20fps and 60fps.

Settings screenshot

Receive settings (no display, which seems to slow it down tremendously)

Changing from 60fps to 30fps in the trigger or changing the exposure from 1/31 to 1/30 or even 1/45s doesn't seem to help much.

Anyone else that does not use IC Capture and non-mac software?

WINDOWS XP

Good Cloudy Nights thread here

.CSV File

FPS	Exposure	# of frames in 10seconds (3 samples)	Theoritical max

60	1/30	202
60	1/27
60	1/23
60	1/21
60	1/18
60	1/16
60	1/15	120
60	1/13
60	1/11
60	1/10	84
60	1/9
60	1/8	70
60	1/7	60
60	1/6	53
60	1/5

30	1/30	290, 297, 280	300
30	1/27	144, 144, 144	270
30	1/23	134, 134, 134	230
30	1/21	124, 124, 124	210
30	1/18	114, 114, 114	180
30	1/16	106, 106, 106	160
30	1/15	101, 101, 101	150
30	1/13	89	130
30	1/11	81	110
30	1/10	74	100
30	1/9	67	90
30	1/8	63	80
30	1/7	54, 54	70
15	1/6		60
30	1/5	44, 44	50

15	1/30	149, 149, 149	150
15	1/27	149	150
15	1/23	149	150
15	1/21	149	150
15	1/18		15
15	1/16	149, 149, 149	150
15	1/15	149	150
15	1/13	69, 69, 69	130
15	1/11	64	110
15	1/10	60, 60	100
15	1/9	55	90
15	1/8	53	80
15	1/7	46	70
15	1/6	42	60
15	1/5	44	50

7.5	1/8	74, 74	75
7.5	1/7	36, 36	70
7.5	1/6	33	60

Registax & Seeing

2008-02-23T18:15:00.001-08:00

Registax processing of a RED channel on Mars from Dec 28, 2007 - 0315UT. I judged the seeing to be ~5/10 at the time of focus on Betelgeuse just minutes before this was taken. Post processing revealed so much detail I hesitate to judge the seeing as average. Looking at the graph and say that the lower left portion of 'good' frames was more like 7+/10 seeing and the top right portion of frames was the less than 5/10 seeing.

Astronomy Photo Gallery

2008-02-23T17:28:00.000-08:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/maphilli14

Partial Planetary Processing Routine v5

2008-02-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

Planetary Processing Routine

by Michael A. Phillips

1) Acquistion

1. TBD

2) Prep

3) Scripted VirtualDub Job Creation

1. Creates .avi -> .bmp job for VirtualDub

1. Download script here for windows: http://www.ericphelps.com/scripting/samples/VirtualDub/index.html

2. Load job in Vdub

4) Ninox Sorting

1. In Ubuntu linux with wine run:

1. Bash scirpt to run ninox

1. wine /Astronomy/Software/Ninox/ninox-2.29/ninox -width=180 -height=180 -cutx=440

-cuty=440 -qestimator -renumber=last -overwrite /Astronomy/2-Scratch/$1

2. Sort by rgb capture via bash script

Bash script that sorts LRGB image series into sub-folders for organization and processing - http://www.mediafire.com/?2jmfkmxmnxe

5) Registax

1. Drag and Drop from source (sometimes multiple drag & drops)

2. Align to taste

3. Optimize (not Optimize & Stack)

1. Reference with mild wavelets (3:10.5 , 4:15.2)

2. Mitchell Resample 2.0 for most work

4. Stack

1. Move slider from top to bottom to pick either:

1. Hotspot near hockey stick of bad seeing

2. 400-500 best

5. Wavelets

1. Mars:

1. Chris Go – like scheme

1. Initial layer = 2

2. 1:13.5 , 2:12.5 , 3:12.5

2. Save as 16-bit .tiff

6) AstraImage

1. Load raw mono channels one at a time (R-CG.tif)

2. Typical settings for my C8i, DMK21AF04 at Mitchell 2.0 resample are

1. Mars

1. Curve 2.0

2. Iterations 5.0

Clean up routine

A. Move final processed images from Sorted: 4-TempStacked to Save: 5-FinalSaves

B. Move .zip's from Sorted: 2-Scratch to Save: 3-Zipped-Ninoxes

C. Move / Delete .avi's from Transit: 1-Captures to Temp: 4-Captures-Sorted

D. Verify that Sorted: 2-Scratch is completely removed

E. Add relevant stats and comparison charts to Save: 5-FinalSaves

Mars Animation from Jan 4 0314 - 0444 UT

2008-01-29T11:14:00.001-08:00

Mars Animation from Jan 4 0314 - 0444 UT
Originally uploaded by maphilli14

Getting started with posting images from my flickr site.

Tips on organizing your computer multimedia files

2008-01-28T10:25:00.000-08:00

Step 1

Acquire the data from your camera(s) and place it in a folder called 1-Transit.
This data is stored here until you act upon it.

Step 2

Sort the data. While you sort be sure to move to another folder called 2-Sorted
Here you can categorize, convert and process your information.

Step 3

Make a backup copy somewhere else and after doing so move files to a folder called 3-Save
This way you can quickly identify which data is already a copy versus data that needs to be copied

Step 4

Make a second copy and remove the originals or move to a folder called 4-Temp
This allows you realize some disk savings by removing without risk of lost data.

Please post comments, this is WIP.

- anony

Rocket Fuel Dump

2007-12-12T19:04:00.000-08:00

While taking out the trash one night I noticed what I thought to be a VERY bright comet. Excitedly I tried to get online to identify. My family got excited if only by my excitement and upon returning I found it moved VERY far relative to the background stars. Confirming this with some binoculars I grabbed my camera, a Canon XTi with the following settings for the attached shot.

10sec
f/5.6
ISO 1600
200mm fl

The URL has an animated sequence in shockwave format which was taken with the same setup and these settings:

http://www.mediafire.com/?3z3ymndt0mn (~20MB in size)

10sec
f/4.5
ISO 1600
28mm fl

Keep in mind this is probably not an artifact as it was tripod mounted. You see a tree branch in the upper left that doesn't move from frame to frame and the object moves different than the hazy and clouds do!?

Could this be a glowing gas caused by a meteorite? Direction of the *object* was relatively in the NW of my local area and it seems that the 'tail' heads back to the zenith / east?

Time of sequence was ~2007-12-10T07:05:26 to 2007-12-10T07:12:41

My local lat & long is ~ 78W by 35N

Good reference: http://www.cloudynights.com

Michael A. Phillips' Astronomy Blog

Hi Res Ceres (Minor Planet / Asteroid)

Titan Transit Teaser 20090224

Visual impression

References

Great seeing on Saturn 2009-02-07

*My* 1st light with the new setup - M81/M82

"Near" the Apollo 11 Landing Site

2008 Solary System Review

New home...

Michael A. Phillips' Planetary Processing Routine v7

Introduction

Acquisition

Ninox

Registax

NOTE at as of 2008.12.12 - I was unable to get AviStack to load the .fit files that I work with. A shame too as the batch mode looks VERY promising!

RGB combining in Iris.

Processing in Iris

MS Windows Addendum:

Batch .avi to .bmp conversion:

NGC 891

Adding a Clear Sky Clock widget/screenlet to Linux

2008-09-01 Jupiter

Visual impression

References

Jupiter animation from 2008-08-05: from 0218 to 0403 UT

Old, Old, OLD Pluto posting

Mars Before and After the Phoenix Lander

Saturn's Encaldus Transit in poor seeing 2008-04-25

Having fun with some bad seeing on Saturn

My 1st Saturn Storm or Enceladus?

DMK Planetary settings in IC Capture

DMK 21AF04 via Linux Coriander and IC Capture FPS expermientation

Registax & Seeing

Astronomy Photo Gallery

Partial Planetary Processing Routine v5

Mars Animation from Jan 4 0314 - 0444 UT

Tips on organizing your computer multimedia files

Rocket Fuel Dump

My 1st light with the new setup - M81/M82