Another astrophotography oportunity on 12-21-2020.

Thanks. I will see if I am up to trying to get an image. I can look up my settings from the last time I shot Jupiter and Saturn. Maybe I can get a couple exposures to get the moons and the stripes on Jupiter.

Originally Posted by Dawg Pics

Thanks. I will see if I am up to trying to get an image. I can look up my settings from the last time I shot Jupiter and Saturn. Maybe I can get a couple exposures to get the moons and the stripes on Jupiter.

Do you think you might be able to see the rings with your 600mm? That would be amazing.

@hark
This is super-cropped. You can't see the rings like with a telescope.

I think I had to zoom in with the live view. I originally said you can see the rings, but pretty sure I had to zoom to see them. I have to go back and look at the nef.

For 2 years in a row I have imaged Saturn with my Sigma 150-600mm C lens. In 2019 I only had a tripod and was constantly chasing Saturn as it moved. This year I had a tracking mount and it was very easy to do a series of photos to stack.



And Jupiter from the same night.


Now I did have to paste the planet image over the over-exposed image that reveals the moons. I use RegiStax to combine 30 or more photos so the details can show. Yes I am cropped in quite a lot. Original full-size images look like dots.

And yes, I have been working on all the planets this year. After finally getting Uranus on the 2nd night of trying, I decided Neptune would be beyond my gear right now.

@BF Hammer
Which tracker do you have, if you don't mind me asking?

I get the idea that I want to do some some astrophotography now and then, but then I start looking at all the stuff I need to purchase, which is why I don't do much more than point my camera at the moon or constellations. I also need a new tripod and head. $$$$

Originally Posted by Dawg Pics

@BF Hammer
Which tracker do you have, if you don't mind me asking?

I get the idea that I want to do some some astrophotography now and then, but then I start looking at all the stuff I need to purchase, which is why I don't do much more than point my camera at the moon or constellations. I also need a new tripod and head. $$$$

This is my tracking mount: Skywatcher AZ-GTi goto mount
There is a mega-thread at Cloudy Nights forum about this mount. Skywatcher does not endorse this for astrophotography. But they did create and make available the alternate firmware that allows the mount to be reconfigured as an equatorial type mount to keep the same perspective as it tracks an object. Still retains the wi-fi connectivity to a smartphone app so you can still have it go-to a target by selecting it in the app. It also requires some parts to be ordered separately and adapting them to the mount. Not all fits as intended and requires some alteration. But in my case I was willing to do this (not really hard) and the all-in price was still under $450. The mount includes a tripod that is at least as sturdy as any I already have. Factor in the comet we were blessed with this year, I would say I have already been rewarded with my money spent and all else is just icing on the cake. I may be using it still for the upcoming solar eclipse in April 2024.

Here is what it looks like with camera and 150-600mm lens.

@BF Hammer
Thanks. I used to be a member of Cloudy Nights, but I have since lost all information to log back in. I wrote them not too long ago to see if I could get back into my old account but never followed up on it.

I doubt I am going to try to struggle with an inferior camera set-up to try to get a zoomed view of the conjunction, but I was delighted to see both planets in one eyepiece through my 8 inch scope last night. That was also a struggle because my finder scope is broken. Now, a bit came off the bottom of my mount making it wobble.