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planetary imaging

Transit of Venus (2012-06-05)

Capturing the 2012 transit of Venus: a rare celestial event

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Capturing the 2012 transit of Venus: a rare celestial event

Less than 1 minute

The transit of Venus happened on June 05, 2012. The planet appeared as a small, dark spot passing across the face of the Sun.

I was able to capture this celestial event from Rome (Italy) with my C8 SCT, a certified solar filter and a DSLR camera.

Transits of Venus are extremely rare events that occur in a cyclical pattern repeating every 243 years, with pairs of transits separated by 8 years, followed by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years before the next pair.

The next transit of Venus across the Sun will occur on December 11, 2117. After that, the following transit will take place on December 8, 2125.

That’s really a once in a lifetime event!

Transit of Venus (2012-06-05)
The Moon (2024-05-18)

A Breathtaking Photo That Will Make You See the Moon in a New Light

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A breathtaking photo that will make you see the Moon in a new light

2 Minutes

To commemorate International Astronomy Day on May 18, 2024, I revisited my long-standing passion for planetary imaging and turned my telescope towards our nearest celestial neighbor – the Moon. The resulting image is nothing short of spectacular!

Technical Details

The image below is a mosaic of two lunar images, captured using my APO ES ED80CF telescope, the ZWO ASI224MC camera (with an IR Cut filter), and FireCapture software. With an exposure time of 1ms, a gain of 129, and utilizing the best 15% of frames from 30-second video captures, I processed the images through AutoStakkert!4, Registax, and GIMP to create this stunning final product.

Thanks to the exceptional sky transparency on the night of capture, the image reveals an abundance of intricate details on the lunar surface.

Craters Galore

Hundreds of craters dot the lunar landscape, with some of the most prominent ones, such as Copernicus, Tycho, and Clavius, immediately catching the eye.

The Dark ‘Maria’

Among the most remarkable features are the ‘maria’ – the Latin word for ‘seas’ because early astronomers mistook these dark, basaltic plains for oceans. These vast, low-lying regions were formed by ancient lava flows that filled impact basins on the lunar surface billions of years ago.

Some of my favorites

In the top-left corner of the image, you’ll find two of my personal favorite lunar features: the dark, round crater Plato, with a diameter of 101 km, and the “Golden Handle” effect on the Rainbow Bay (Sinus Iridum).
The “golden handle” is a visual effect observed on the Moon’s surface, where sunlight illuminates the peaks of Montes Jura while the adjacent Sinus Iridum remains in shadow, creating a handle-like appearance. It is visible about 10 to 11 days after a New Moon, for a few hours.

Leaving the deep sky objects for another time, I spent this night’s observing session to our celestial neighbor, the Moon. It is my hope that you find this lunar image as breathtaking and inspiring as I did. Until next time, clear skies!

The Moon (2024-05-18)
Created with GIMP

My Best Astroimages of 2023

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My Best Astroimages of 2023

Less than 1 minute

Join me as I take a look back at the most exciting moments of my astroimaging journey in 2023. Some highlights below:

  • I imaged a bright comet
  • I took my first images of solar prominences with a solar telescope!
  • I saw the Northern Lights from my own backyard!
  • I imaged the brightest supernova in the last 10 years
  • I took stunning images of deep sky objects from a dark sky location and from my backyard
  • I imaged 6 planets and our own Moon
  • I captured a partial solar eclipse in between clouds

Get ready for another orbit around the Sun and, as always, remember to keep looking up at the stars!

Uranus (2023-10-03-04:24 UT)

I imaged the elusive ice giant planets: Uranus and Neptune

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I imaged the elusive ice giant planets: Uranus and Neptune

2 Minutes
At the beginning of October 2023 I was out again for more planetary imaging. When I started my imaging session weather and seeing were not good and I was about to give up. But around midnight seeing and transparency dramatically improved. As a result, I was able to add Uranus and 4 of its moons to my 2023 collection!
 
Date: 2023-10-03 04:24 UT
Location: My driveway in Richmond Hill (ON)
Scope: Celestron 8 SCT
Mount: Celestron AVX
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC, ZWO ADC (atmospheric dispersion corrector)
Filter: ZWO IR Cut filter
Focuser: Celestron Focus Motor
Software: FireCapture (best 50% from a 180seconds video), AutoStakkert!3 (AS!3), Registax, Topaz DeNoise AI, GIMP.
Total # Frames: 
Gain: 316
Shutter: 316 milliseconds
The final processed image of Uranus and 4 of its moons. You can scroll the slider to see the annotated image with the name of the moons.
In the image you can see Ariel (bottom of the image), Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. I wasn’t able to detect Miranda, probably because its magnitude (16.2) makes Miranda a challenging target for my scope.
Uranus (2023-10-03-04:24 UT)Uranus (2023-10-03-04:24 UT)

Neptune was also in opposition on September 19. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to try and capture the elusive blue planet at its brightest through my telescope.

At a distance of 28.902 Astronomical Units, which is 4.323 million km, Neptune’s apparent diameter was just 2.36 arcseconds and its magnitude was 7.68. I was also able to spot its moon Triton, with a magnitude of 13.44 and a diameter of only 2705 km, just below Neptune.

I used FireCapture and the final image is a combination of 405 frames from a 60 seconds video.

Neptune at opposition (2023-09-20 02:40 UT)
Jupiter (2023-10-03 03:47 UT)

I captured a breathtaking image of Jupiter through my telescope

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I captured a breathtaking image of Jupiter through my telescope

2 Minutes
At the beginning of October 2023 I spent a night doing planetary imaging despite the weather didn’t seem too good with high and thin clouds everywhere.
Well, it turned out to be my best capture of Jupiter in 2023 and probably one of my best images of Jupiter to date!
 
The Great Red Spot (GRS) is almost at the meridian and you can clearly see the moon Europa and its shadow in transit, bands and zones, and half a dozens of white ovals in the Southern hemisphere. Notably, there is a white outbreak in the clouds to the left of the GRS.
 
Date: 2023-10-02
Location: My driveway in Richmond Hill (ON)
Scope: Celestron 8 SCT
Mount: Celestron AVX
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC, ZWO ADC (atmospheric dispersion corrector)
Filter: ZWO IR Cut filter
Focuser: Celestron Focus Motor
Software: FireCapture (Best 50% frames from 90sec. video), AutoStakkert!3 (AS!3), Registax, Topaz DeNoise AI, GIMP.
Total # Frames: 6998
FPS: 120
Gain: 169
Shutter: 8ms
The final processed image of Jupiter. Plenty of atmospheric details are visible:
 
  • the Great Red Spot (GRS), some dozens of white ovals and some outbreaks in the clouds
  • dark-colored belts (North Tropical Belt, North Equatorial Belt, South Equatorial Belt);
  • light-colored zones (North Temperate Zone, North Tropical Zone, Equatorial Zone, South Tropical Zone, South Temperate Zone);
  • the North Polar Region and the South Polar Region;
  • the moon Europa and its dark shadow projected on Jupiter. A hypotethical inhabitant of Jupiter, situated where the moon Europa shadow passes in front of the the planet, could experience a solar eclipse every 3.5 days!
Jupiter (2023-10-03 03:47 UT)
I also used PIPP to make an animation of Europa and its shadow transiting on Jupiter, from 2:12 to 4:00 UT.
Jupiter Animation (2023-10-02)
Moon (2023-04-28 01:34 UT) - annotated

The Moon: let’s take a closer look

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The Moon: let’s take a closer look

Less than 1 minute Minutes

On April 27, 2023 the atmospheric conditions were excellent and I decided to go out with my Celestron 8 SCT and my dedicated ZWO ASI224MC planetary camera to capture a few high-resolution images of the Moon.

Setup
Date: 2023-04-27
Location: my driveway in Richmond Hill (ON)
Scope: Celestron 8 SCT
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC
Filters: IR Cut filter
Mount: Celestron AVX
Software: FireCapture, Autostakkert3 (AS!3), Registax 6, GIMP
Total integration time: best 10% of 30 seconds videos.

The main feature of this image is Mare Tranquillitatis, a vast lunar mare that dominates the upper portion of the frame. Zooming in closer, we can spot a small crater called Moltke located on the southern part of the Mare Tranquillitatis. Interestingly, just a few pixels north of this crater lies the historic Apollo 11 landing site!

Moving our gaze to the bottom right of the image, we can observe three impressive craters – Theophilus, Cyrillus, and Catharina – each spanning a diameter of approximately 100 km. These craters are a reminder of our Moon’s turbulent past.

Scroll the slider to switch between these two images of the Moon. 

Scroll the slider to switch between the images of the Moon and its annotated imageScroll the slider to switch between the images of the Moon and its annotated image

The slanted angle of the sunlight in this image accentuates certain features and creates a striking contrast between light and shadow. Among these features are the Caucasus Mountains, situated at the bottom of the image, as well as the Eudoxus and Aristoteles craters, located to the right. In the center of the image is Cassini, with a diameter of 56km. It has a strange shape, shallowed with lava and 2 craters on the floor. Another prominent feature is the Alpine Valley, a lengthy fissure that runs through the Alpes Mountains and points back to the center of the Imbrium Basin. Scientists believe that this valley was formed due to the fracturing and splitting of the lunar crust during the impact that created the Imbrium Basin.

Scroll the slider to switch between the images of the Moon and its annotated imageScroll the slider to switch between the images of the Moon and its annotated image

In this image you can notice dozens of craters scattered across its surface. They are a reminder of the countless impacts that have occurred over the course of the Moon’s existence. However, what impressed me most in this image are two striking and deep depressions named Ariadaeus Rille and Hyginus Rille – which hint at the Moon’s geological past. Hyginus is a vast and rimless depression situated at the intersection of two massive crater-pit rilles and is believed to be the largest volcanic crater on the Moon.

Moon (2023-04-27): Ariadaeus Rille and Hyginus Rille
Mars and the Moon (2022-12-07)

Mars reaches its opposition and “kisses” the Moon!

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Mars reaches its opposition and “kisses” the Moon!

Less than 1 minute Minutes

I caught the Moon and Mars a few minutes after the end of the occultation!

December 7, 2022: I marked this date on my calendar because of Mars opposition and a lunar occultation that was visible from my location, only to discover that the cloud coverage was 100% during the occultation.

However, I prepared my scope and my planetary camera, just in case.

The sky was cloudy for the entire duration of the occultation, but cleared for a few minutes around 11:35 pm EST, well after the end of the occultation. Weather conditions during the acquisition were very challenging (as you can see from the video below), but I am happy with the reward of my perseverance: I captured the Full Moon and Mars in opposition!

Date: 2022-12-07
Time: 11:38pm EST
Location: my driveway in Richmond Hill (ON)
Scope: Explore Scientific ED80 CF
Mount: Celestron AVX
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC, IR-Cut filter
Software: FireCapture, Autostakkert, Registax, GIMP

The image was taken 20 minutes after the end of the occultation and is the result of the best 30% frames from a 10 sec. video. Mars, with some of its features, is visible on the bottom right of the image.
 
You can use the slider to scroll the image and show or hide the annotation of Mars. 
The Moon and Mars on December 07, 2022The Moon and Mars on December 07, 2022
This is a 5 sec. sequence extracted from one of the videos I captured on the opposition night. You can see fast clouds passing in front of the Moon and the planet Mars to the bottom right corner of the video.
Mars (2022-12-05)

A night with Mars I won’t forget

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A night with Mars I won’t forget

Less than 1 minute Minutes

Due to the weather conditions in my area, yesterday night I wasn’t sure whether to image or not to image Mars. At last, I decided to go out and give a try (who knows when we will experience another clear night here in the GTHA) … And what a view of Mars on my telescope!

The night wasn’t too cold (-2°C) but the wind settled. There were some high clouds that dissipated during my imaging session. Seeing was average but I had a few moments with perfect conditions and no atmospheric turbulence.

Yesterday the distance of Mars was 81.6 million km, its magnitude was -1.92, the altitude was 62°50’, and its diameter was 17.15 arcseconds. Mars opposition will occur in just 2 days (on December 7-8), while Mars reached its minimum distance from the Earth on November 30.

I am so glad that I went out, set up my gear and shot some fantastic images of Mars! Definitely a night I won’t forget!

Date: 2022-12-05
Time: 03:49 UT
Location: my driveway in Richmond Hill (ON)
Scope: Celestron C8 SCT
Mount: Celestron AVX
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC, IR-Cut filter, TeleVue PowerMate 2.5x
Software: FireCapture, Autostakkert, Registax, GIMP

I obtained the final image (to the right) by processing the best 30% frames from a 60 seconds video.
 
Several features are visible in the final processed image. From left to right: the triangular shape of Syrtis Major and Syrtis Minor, the bright Hellas (below Syrtis Major), the Mare Cimmerium, and the white North Polar hoods (yes, clouds!).
Mars (2022-12-05)
Total Lunar Eclipse (2022-11-08)

I photographed the total lunar eclipse

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I photographed the total lunar eclipse on November 08, 2022

Less than 1 minute Minutes
On November 08, 2022 a total lunar eclipse was visible in the early morning from my location. Although the Moon was low on the horizon, I decided to give a try and to observe the totality. 
 
The next total lunar eclipse won’t happen until March 14, 2025.
 
The night before the sky was crystal clear and the view of the Moon from my telescope looked promising. 
 
I observed the totality from my driveway and captured a few images with my DSLR camera (a Nikon D5300) and a 55-200 telephoto zoom lens. I am happy to share an image of the totality and a short YouTube video of the eclipse. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
 
You can subscribe to my YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/@wondersofthesky
 
Until next time, clear skies!
 
Date: 2022-11-08
Location: Richmond Hill (ON)
Scope: Explore Scientific ED80CF for the Full Moon
Mount: Celestron CG-5
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC PRO, Nikon D5300 + 55-200 telephoto zoom lens
Software: FireCapture (best 30% of 10 seconds videos), AutoStakkert!3 (AS!3), Registax, GIMP.
The night before the sky was crystal clear and the view of the Moon from my telescope looked really promising. 
Stacked image of the Full Moon (2022-11-07)
I took this image of the total lunar eclipse at its maximum from my driveway.
Total Lunar Eclipse (2022-11-08)
Jupiter processed image (2022-09-08)

A night with Jupiter

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A night with Jupiter

Less than 1 minute Minutes
The night of September 08, 2022 I imaged Jupiter with a 8 inch telescope and a planetary camera from my driveway. Plenty of atmospheric details are visible in the final image: dark-colored belts, light-colored zones and finally the North and South polar regions.
 
Over the course of the night I also imaged the Great Red Spot (GRS) emerging from the lower edge of Jupiter’s disc and two Galileian moons: Io and Europa.
 
On September 26, the giant planet will be at opposition and will be visible all night long. The night before (September 25) Jupiter will make its closest approach to Earth since October 1951. Its distance will be 590 million km and it won’t be this close again for the next 107 years, until the year 2129!
 
I made a short YouTube video of Jupiter, too. Scroll to the end of this page to watch it. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
 
Date: 2022-09-08
Location: Richmond Hill (ON)
Scope: Celestron 8 SCT, Tele Vue PowerMate 2.5x
Mount: Celestron AVX
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC
Filter: ZWO IR Cut filter
Finder Scope: Explore Scientific 8×50 Non-Illuminated Finder Scope
Focuser: Celestron Focus Motor
Software: FireCapture (best 30% of 60 seconds videos), AutoStakkert!3 (AS!3), Registax, Topaz DeNoise AI, GIMP.
The final processed image of Jupiter. Plenty of atmospheric details are visible:
 
  • dark-colored belts (North Tropical Belt, North Equatorial Belt, South Equatorial Belt);
  • light-colored zones (North Temperate Zone, North Tropical Zone, Equatorial Zone, South Tropical Zone, South Temperate Zone);
  • and finally the North Polar Region and the South Polar Region.
Jupiter processed image (2022-09-08)

A combination of wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric jets, and cloud composition causes Jupiter’s banded appearance.

Credits: https://astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2012/10/color-code and NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Jupiter's clouds features
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