Stellar Products Image Gallery

Updated June 10, 2012.

Each photo is described in detail, including exposures, equipment used, dates, and processing. All of the 2000-2003 images used a 10" Newtonian telescope with the AO-2 to project the image to the SBIG ST-7 camera and CFW-8 filter wheel. The effective focal length is 14.1 m, giving a plate scale of about 7.6 pixels per arcsecond (3.8 pixels/arcsec in 2x binned mode). This is slightly over F/60, so even the central core of the Airy disk is spread over 4 pixels.

For Mars, starting in 2003, a Philips ToUcam webcam is used at F/33 to get some great images. Focusing is easier, and the noise level on raw frames is much less than I expected. Automatic selection of the best 100 frames, and automatic registration, seems very good. I tested the ToUcam to measure its actual exposure time, linearity, and spectral response.

Starting 2005, a 16 in telescope is used.

The narrative for each image is variable - I'm treating this website as my long-term notebook. Things that went well, as well as things that went wrong, and changes to my telescope or techniques are all included in the following pages and images.

Jupiter

• high resolution images and short movies
• a seven-hour rotating Jupiter movie in three downloadable sizes
• fantastic S-L9 film images

Saturn

• high resolution images showing a hint of the Enke division in a color image
• a movie showing 4 moons revolving around Saturn
• ringless Saturn images

Moon

• the "cave" region in Copernicus

• a movie showing turbulence over a typical image.

Mars - the 2001 global dust storm, 2003 images with a webcam and 2005 images with a 16" telescope

Uranus - and 4 of its moons - less than 4 arcsec diameter, but it shows a resolved disk, with moons.

Venus

• 2012 solar transit with a point-and-shoot camera
• showing phase changes and some hints of cloud features.
• showing its colorful side due to Earth's atmospheric refraction

Stellar images

• M13's core
• close double stars - images of stars at F/60 for near diffraction-limited resolution.
• diffraction rings from 8" and 4" apertures
• Orion's Trapezium.

Galaxy images

All imaged with a C11 telescope and CMOS camera, resulting in 2 arcsec resolution

• M33
• M74
• M31 (core only, not mosaicked)
• NCG 7479

Pluto occultation

• On August 14, 2018, Pluto occulted a star as seen from San Diego. This is a final report of the successful data collection, including detailed photometric analysis.

Globular cluster images

• M15 imaged with 2 arcsec resolution using a C11 and CMOS camera

(For best viewing, please maximize your monitor brightness and adjust the contrast until you can see each of the 17 gray scales shown here)

All text and images are Copyright by Stellar Products, 1992-2012. Any use by others without permission of Stellar Products is prohibited.

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