This is Saturn, taken a few days after Opposition for this year (2023).
Saturn’s recent opposition in 2023 has enthralled astronomy enthusiasts worldwide. The event showcased the ringed planet at its brightest and closest point to Earth, offering a remarkable opportunity to witness its mesmerizing beauty in the night sky.
Saturn’s Splendor
Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, has long captivated stargazers with its allure. Its most striking feature is undoubtedly its magnificent rings, composed of countless icy particles. These rings create a captivating spectacle visible even with modest telescopes, and we’ve been enjoying the view in our recent observing sessions.
The 2023 Opposition: Celestial Alignment
Opposition occurs when a planet is directly opposite the Sun as seen from Earth. During this alignment, Saturn is fully illuminated, making it appear brighter and more prominent in our night sky.
Saturn’s opposition in 2023 occurred on July 20th, presenting a significant event for astronomy enthusiasts. This was when Saturn was at its closest distance to Earth, providing an ideal opportunity to observe its mesmerizing details and its captivating ring system.
Oppositions allow astronomers to study and photograph celestial objects in greater detail. By capturing images during this period, scientists can gather valuable data about Saturn’s atmosphere, rings, and moons, aiding our understanding of the planet’s composition and evolution.
A New Imaging Process for Planetary
This is my first foray into real planetary imaging. The arrival of the Ritchey Chretien 12″ astrograph with its 2450mm focal length finally has given me the ability to undertake this very different kind of astrophotography. With the use of a TeleVue barlow lens, I can get an effective 4900mm (f\16) focal length. I had a planetary camera sitting idle (ASI-120MM-S) so I combined it and its small pixels with the 2x barlow. That runs through a filter wheel for the different color channels.
The Planetary imaging process is in many ways exactly opposite from Deep Sky imaging, which is what I am used to. In Deep Sky imaging, you take many long exposures through multiple filters, then combine the images in software to create the color image. In Planetary Imaging, you take many thousands of very short exposures (via movie capture), then analyze all the frames and select only the sharpest, most detailed images. This process is known as “lucky imaging”. Those are combined and heavily processed through various sharpening techniques.
Since I am using a monochrome camera I have additional effort, in that all this has to be done three times through Red, Green, and Blue filters. The final master stacks have to be combined in PhotoShop to produce a full color image.
Image Info
- Imaged from the KPO main dome, in Saint Cloud, Florida
- Camera : ZWO ASI120MM-S through a TeleVue Big Barlow (2X)
- Scope: Orion RC-12 Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph, 4900mm fl, F/16
- Mount: iOptron CEM-120
- Red – frame count not captured (will do in future)
- Green – frame count not captured
- Blue – frame count not captured
- Captured via ASIAir Pro automation
- Separate channels stacked and integrated in AutoStakkert! and Registax.
- Channels RGB integrated in PhotoShop.
- Image run through Super DeNoising
- Final processing in Aperture