Saturn 1-26-08

Saturn 1-26-08

Here are some LRGB images of Saturn that were taken around 06:18 GMT on 1/27/2008. They have been processed and are ready to be combined into a color image.

Full color spectrum taken with a monochrome camera

Called Luminance. Since this lets in the most light, more frames are taken. Provides details.

I took 2000 images at the maximum frame rate for my camera (60 frames per second).

Red filter taken with a monochrome camera

Called Red. Still lets in quite a bit of light. Provides lower color spectrum data.

Since Saturn rotates rapidly, in order to get as much detail as possible, the four movies must be taken rather quickly. It would take too long to get 2000 frames so I stopped after 840 frames or about 45 seconds.

Green filter using a monochrome camera

The middle of the visible spectrum has a fair amount of light. Provides middle spectrum details.

Again because of time concerns, I stopped at 583 frames. The camera has adjustments to increase the brightness, the gain, and gamma. But, if you set these too high, the images become too noisy and you can't see the details you are looking for. I experiment with these settings to see what looks best but it's hard to tell when you are taking the movies. You have to trade off more noise against fewer images. If you have fewer images, then your final picture won't have enough frames in it to be very detailed anyway.

Blue filter taken with a monochrome camera

The atmosphere cuts out a lot of blue light. Shows upper range of spectrum.

I could only get 319 frames using the blue filter. I might only get around 9 frames per second. I have been experimenting with a Televue Powermate that enlarges the image of Saturn 2.5 times but the expense shows especially using the blue filter. It might take me 2 seconds to catch enough light using the Powermate. All of these images are at f/10 which is the focal ratio of my telescope.