These two images were taken Saturday evening around 10PM a few minutes apart. Two cameras, my ASI120MC color and its brother the ASI120MM monochrome. Both have the same number of pixels, 1.2M, so the monochrome should provide better resolution. Focusing done remotely from the laptop. Both images were created from the best 20% of 2000 10ms frames stacked with AutoStakkert!2 and processed further in Photoshop. No Great Red Spot this time but plenty of other detail.
Here is a reasonably large sunspot group shot with my 80mm Celestron Onyx ED and ASI120 MM camera. I got the monochromatic camera to complement the color ASI120 MC camera I use for planets and it did a good job here. I got the scope and the light duty Celestron Nexstar mount with next year’s total solar eclipse in mind. All three performed well today although I have to work on my technique. I had to have Jack focus the scope while I ducked my head under a towel and peered at the laptop screen. I’m planning to get some easy to pop up canopy for the eclipse sometime and that would help here too. A better focuser might help. Not Jack, he did fine, but a dual speed replacement for the OEM focuser.
The family plus family friend Savannah drove to DC over spring break. 18 hours of driving each way plus four days in a nice BnB. The weather turned cold of course, as it always does during spring break, it even snowed on the second day but started warming as we left. Fun but exhausting. The pictures are in no particular order.
[espro-slider id=2686]
