High Resolution Planetary Imaging
Fighting the Atmosphere
• Getting out of the
Atmosphere
• Adaptive Optics
• Lucky Imaging
Feeling Lucky
Lucky Imaging is the
process of capturing
planets using a CCD
video camera. A
software to sort out
the quality of the
images. This takes
allows one to take
advantage of the
fleeting good seeing.
Lucky Imaging
Development of inexpensive
video capture devices. (ie,
Philips Toucam, Imaging Source
ZWO, PtGrey, Celestron)
The advances of computer
hardware and interface.
The development of processing
and control software. (ie
Registax and Firecapture)
SUMMARY
Choosing the Right Equipment
Imaging Workflow
a. Preparation
b. Image Capture
c. Image Processing
d. Post Processing
e. Archiving
The Telescope: Aperture Rules!
The bigger the aperture, the higher the
resolution.
Imaging with Large Telescopes
The Camera
High Speed Machine Vision Industrial Camera
Can do high frame rate with no compression. Low noise circuit. Flexible imaging
capabilities.
Available from the following companies:
1. Celestron International
2. Point Grey Research
3. ZWO Optical
Monochrome or Color
Color CCD Monochrome CCD
Pro: Simple to Setup and Fast Processing. Pro: Very Sensitive CCD, better image
Very inexpensive setup. quality, no problem with Atmospheric
Dispersion.
Cons: Less sensitive CCD due to Bayer Cons: Expensive and Complicated Setup.
Layers. Needs to compensate for
Atmospheric Dispersion.
CCD is DEAD! Long Live
CMOS!
Some Useful Accessories
Barlow Increases the image scale of the object imaged
Motorized Filter Wheels Allows vibration free changing of filters.
Filters:
RGB Filters To make colored image from monochrome camera.
UV, IR and Methane Band Special Filters to reveal atmospheric details on gas
Filters planets.
Flip Mirror Time saver in centering an object to the CCD camera.
Motorized Focuser Allows vibration free and fine focusing
Vibration Suppression Pads Reduces high frequency vibration when imaging on
hard surfaces
Preparations before
Imaging
Location, Location, Location
• Best place to do planetary imaging is at
the area close to the equator (where
planets are higher), and close to the sea.
• Stay away from heat sources (ie., air
conditioning system, chimneys, hot
asphalt, etc.)
• The three most important thing in
getting quality planetary image are:
seeing, seeing and seeing!
COOL YOUR OTA
It is very important
that the telescope is
at ambient
temperature. Tube
currents KILL
seeing!
Plan your imaging with WinJupos
Use the Ephemerides
function of Winjupos.
Check which side of the
planet will be visible in
your planned observing
time.
Check the position of the
moons of the planets to
check for transits or
eclipses.
If you do not plan, you might miss
exciting events!!
The 2009 Quad Transit at Saturn
HST Imaging with Mike Wong and the
Hubble Heritage Team.
Ganymede/Io Eclipse!
A very rare Solar Eclipse on
Jupiter’s moon Ganymede
by volcanic Io!
This image sequence was
taken using a Celestron C11
telescope with a DMK21F04
Camera.
IMAGE CAPTURE
FireCapture
Currently, one of the best
capture software.
It supports a variety of
cameras.
Feature rich. It as
autoguide function and
allows control of filter
wheel.
It’s Free!!
Capture Secrets
Find the sweet spot of your
imaging system. Have a capture
routine for each target object.
Make sure your filename
includes the UT date and time.
Use the fastest frame rate
possible.
Don’t be afraid to push gain to
100%.
Turn off Gamma!!
Spend time to focus the
telescope.
Use Region of Interest (ROI) to reduce file size for faster processing.
Final Image Quality Depends on your capture
quality. So be patient!
Jupiter
Keep histogram level around 80-
90% on all channels.
Keep total integration time below
2 minutes.
Use focal length of around 30X of
your aperture 5 micron pixel
cameras and 20X the aperture
for 3.75 micron cameras.
Saturn
Saturn has very low surface Use Winjupos Derotation so that the final
brightness. image will be smooth.
Use 50% histogram level for red and
green and 30% for blue.
Keep total integration time to around 3
minutes.
Mars
Use focal length around 50X
the aperture for 5 micron
pixel cameras and 30X the
aperture for 3.75 micron
cameras.
Keep histogram level of the
Red Channel at around 80-
90%. Keep Green at around
60-70% and Blue around 30-
40%.
Total integration time can be
as long as 4 minutes.
UV-IR should be blocked to
get true colors. Make sure
your blue channel has no IR
leakage.
IMAGE PROCESSING
Registax
This is the software that revolutionized Planetary Imaging. This software
has excellent controls and features. Allows the use of dark and flat
correction. It has an excellent sharpening wavelet tool.
AutoStakkert!!
Pro: AutoStakkert is easier to use and better results vs
Registax. Process the image faster and automatically
aligns the image.
Con: Few controls. Not very intuitive to use.
Making Things Bigger
Resampling can be use to increase image size.
AutoStakkert Registax
1.5X Drizzle 1.5X Mitchell
Sharpening vs Noise Reduction
Sharpening Tools Noise Reduction Tools
Registax Wavelets Despeckle Tool
Unsharp Masking Dust and Scratches Tool
Topaz Labs DeNoise Tool
Image Processing is an art form. Each person will have
their own look.
WinJupos DeRotation: The Next Revolution
in Planetary Imaging
WinJupos DeRotation module allows imagers to go past the time limits set my the
rotation of the planets.
1. Image Measurement
a. Capture multiple image sequence for a -Use Page Up and Down to increase or
span of 15-20 min. decrease the size of the outline.
b.Open Image in Image measurement c. Press F11 to automatically adjust the
window. Input the date and time the image outline.
was taken.
d. The outline has to be adjusted by: e. Save the measurement in .ims file.
-Use the Arrow Keys to go move the
outline. f. Repeat with all images.
-N to rotate the outline clockwise and P to
rate it counterclockwise.
2. De-Rotation
a. The der-otation module can be found under the tools menu.
b. Press Edit and Add each of the IMAGE MEASUREMENT FILES you want to stack.
c. Choose the output file type and image orientation you want your final image to look.
d. Press COMPILE IMAGE.
Single vs Derotated
The Work Flow
Capture Workflow
1. For RGB: capture continues RGB sets.
When seeing is good, capture 4 sets for
amateur telescopes. For 1m and above,
capture 15 sets of RGB.
2. For IR, CH4 and UV, capture 4 continuous
capture for amateur telescopes and 15 for 1m
and above.
Processing Sequence:
1. Process all captured data in Autostakkert.
2. Apply Registax Wavelets.
3. Combine RGB in Photoshop.
4. In Winjupos, do image measurement for
each RGB file.
5. Derotate
The Final Image
1. North or South up?
2. Use UT time of the green channel if your are
doing RGB.
3. Include Central Meridian info. This info can
be obtained with WinJupos Ephemerides Tool.
For Jupiter and Saturn Include the THREE
Central Meridian Info.
4. Include observer information Name and
Location.
5. When using De-Rotation indicate your total
capture time.
Post Processing/Archiving
Review all Jupiter and Saturn
videos for possible impacts
using the Jupiter Impact
Detection Software.
Archive your data! Use
compression to reduce data
volume.
Burn compressed archives on
Blue-Ray Discs or store on
removable hard drives.
Software/Hardware Info
Capture Software
FireCapture http://firecapture.wonderplanets.de/
Stacking Software
Registax http://www.astronomie.be/registax/
AutoStakkert 2.0 http://www.autostakkert.com/
Winjupos http://www.grischa-hahn.homepage.t-
online.de/astro/winjupos/index.htm
Camera Companies
Celestron http://www.celestron.com/
Point Grey Research http://www.ptgrey.com
ZWO Optical http://www.zwoptical.com/Eng/cameras/
