From: "Duane" <macastronomer@mac.com>

Date: November 11, 2005 9:31:17 AM MST

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: Camera for guiding

Seeing is everything. I just started noticing how many people have wonderful Mars shots 

from October 21st. That does say a lot.

That's a nice shot. I can't wait to try Saturn and Jupiter.

Even when my shots come out very "unFriedman" like, it's still a lot of fun. I enjoy 

planetary imaging more than still. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy still photography too. 

Webcam imaging is just plain fun. There is instant gratification with Astro IIDC. It's fun just 

to see stuff live on the screen. Browsing around the Moon is a blast.

I also think that this is what is required to get my son involved. If I get him out with me 

and hook up the computer and browse around the Moon, we'll be able to look and point at 

stuff together. That's something you just can't do through the eyepiece.

Duane

PS. I lay claim to coining the frase, "Friedman-esk" for a spectacular planetary image, or 

"unFriedman" for when they come out like the other 90% of my images.

Alan, can I copy right your name?  :)

--- In Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com, "David Illig" <yag@d...> wrote:

Duane:

A good image still boils down to good seeing. I have my one Mars shot that I am very 

proud of:

http://homepage.mac.com/deal/subpages/astrophotos/planets/mars_10_21_05.html

...

Try as I might, I have not been able to duplicate this effort and the only two things I 

can 

come up with is 1) I don't know what I'm doing and I lucked out   OR 2) This is heavily 

dependent on seeing conditions.

Number 2 is what I am hoping is true :)

Hello, Duane. Number 1 could be true, but it seems unlikely, while number 2 is 

definitely 

true. I don't have any webcam images of the quality that you show with your Mars and 

Saturn images, and I'm convinced that atmospheric turbulence is the reason. My photo 

at 

<http://www.davidillig.com/ast-jupiter040416.shtml>, for example, is not too bad -- 

at 

least it's good enough to tell me "I can do this, and I can get better at it." But, garbage 

in, 

garbage out.  If I capture 2-3 thousand frames that are highly distorted by turbulence, 

Astro IIDC, good as it is, will not make a silk purse from that sow's ear. That has been 

my 

experience with Mars. I'll continue trying as weather permits until Mars is too small.

David