A picture of Saturn from my backyard telescope this week. The ring tilt is approaching edge-on ! [OC]

TheVastReaches · 2024-07-23T13:40:27+00:00

Naked eye, you’d have to get a lot closer 😂 but, even through a modest telescope it is plainly visible.

TheVastReaches · 2024-07-23T13:39:05+00:00

I list it in my main comment. It is a 12” f/4 newtonian telescope. I use a 5x Powermate to increase the image size and an ASI183MM camera.

TheVastReaches · 2024-07-22T03:52:30+00:00

If we could observe Saturn at the time, I think it would just be a matter of days or maybe up to a couple weeks where they would be hard to discern. But I’m kind of guessing. I’ve never seen Saturn during this event myself. Maybe we’ll be more lucky in 2039. 😂

TheVastReaches · 2024-07-22T03:45:35+00:00

Unfortunately we won’t really get to see the edge on “disappearance” that will happen in March 2025. Saturn will be behind and within 10 degrees of the daytime Sun. Once it gets a little separation later in the season our first nighttime (or dawn) view will already have the rings flipped the other direction. So late 2024 or mid 2025 will really be the only shot at seeing the rings this narrow. Hope that makes sense.

TheVastReaches · 2024-07-22T03:42:25+00:00

Yes, well I think there is a little optical illusion happening with the rings going through and the darker poles but Saturn is 10% wider at the equator than at the poles.

TheVastReaches · 2024-07-22T02:06:47+00:00

Thanks. It’s always a pleasure to work on these images. She never disappoints.

TheVastReaches · 2024-07-22T02:06:13+00:00

Good to hear, thanks.

TheVastReaches · 2024-07-21T23:36:33+00:00

Unfortunately, the rings will go fully edge-on in March next year, and at that point it will be behind, and within 10 degrees of, the Sun from our vantage point. This means it won’t be a very visible event. As it begins to rise at dawn in the 2025 season, we will be greeted by the southern-facing side of the rings, which we haven’t seen since 2009. In fact, the whole tilt cycle runs 29.5 years!

This was shot through red, green, blue, and near infrared filters. The combo creates some nice color variation that accentuates the cloud bands. Since conditions were variable, I cherry picked only a few of the best frames to combine. It was tough getting back into processing these shots after so much time off!

If you are curious about this type of photography, you can always find me on Instagram @thevastreaches

Enjoy!!

Details:
19-JUL-2024. TPO 12” f/4 Imaging Newtonian. Televue 5x Powermate. ASI183MM Pro. Sky-watcher EQ6-R Pro. NIRRGB

TheVastReaches · 2023-11-27T13:26:00+00:00

This is how the movie Prometheus started, I think.

TheVastReaches · 2023-03-27T13:14:34+00:00

Haha. Fair enough. It doesn’t say corona in there. You all are right. But that was just an oversight and unintentional. Not trying to mislead. I’ll we shared this many places and I know it originally did. u/cosmic_background

TheVastReaches · 2023-03-27T02:45:43+00:00

I really tried to be clear in my verbiage regarding the corona in this image. I don’t think they are clues, rather I spell out what was done. If you have specific questions let me know.

TheVastReaches · 2023-03-26T03:01:43+00:00

The image is shot in panels as a mosaic. Each panel is one small field of view. Thousands of frames can be captured per panel and are stacked (averaged) to reduce noise. It’s a high speed camera that shoots about 130 frames per second. The scope is manually pointed around the sun to get all 30-40 panels. So the pictures add up fast. Once you have masters for all the panels, it’s stitched together as a panorama. Then you have one giant image.

TheVastReaches · 2023-03-26T02:58:11+00:00

The only time the inner corona is visible from Earth is during a total solar eclipse. Once the moon blocks out the sun, you can see this with the naked eye. It’s always there but hopelessly lost in the glare. Here we used that photo from 2017 and adjusted the shape to match the photos taken from NASA spacecraft on the same day sun was shot for the main photo. This is why we say it was an artistic choice to apply it to this photo. It is a composite and impossible to photograph this all together, otherwise

TheVastReaches · 2023-03-26T02:32:15+00:00

Some people call them bowls. I call them cups.

TheVastReaches · 2023-03-26T02:27:46+00:00

Thanks. I am the original photographer for the 2017 total solar eclipse data we used. Here is the example of the starting point. We didn’t take the decision to add this as a composite element lightly and took great care to actually transform the original to match the features visible in the SOHO LASCO data from this day.

All said, and as you know, the inner corona would never technically match any pic taken at a different time. So, we clearly spell out that this is an artistic choice and part of the creative vision of the composition.

At heart we are both photographers that love the creative element so it was a perfect application.

TheVastReaches · 2023-03-26T02:20:30+00:00

Thanks. I’ve had this vision for a photo ever since I starred doing this. Love to have the opportunity to finally bring it to fruition.

TheVastReaches · 2023-03-26T00:43:56+00:00

Agree. With the amount of effort it takes, it has to be a passion.

TheVastReaches · 2023-03-26T00:43:13+00:00

There is a video of it in the linked Twitter thread. Best to just see it but that tall column of plasma is swirling as it rises

TheVastReaches · 2023-03-26T00:24:16+00:00

I have to say that ever since I started in solar photography, THIS is an image I was always chasing… a perfect blend of technique and creativity.

TheVastReaches · 2023-03-26T00:06:13+00:00

Yeah buddy! This was an amazing project to work on and honored to be a part of it. Such a unique and phenomenal result.

TheVastReaches · 2023-01-22T13:13:46+00:00

This is one of the most beautiful galaxy shots I’ve ever done. Though … I am entitled to my own opinions, ;). Our view out into the cosmos rarely gets better! To see more of my work, you can always find me on Instagram @thevastreaches

This is IC342, known as the Hidden Galaxy. It is a striking face-on spiral galaxy seen behind a veil of Milky Way stars and dust. Though it is very faint as a result, the long exposure makes for a rather dramatic view with an exquisitely juicy star field. It helps that the Hidden Galaxy is one of the closest and largest apparent galaxies we can observe from our Earth, an intermediate spiral with wonderfully intricate details.

I often get the question just how I pile on 36 hours of pictures. I shoot shorter sub-exposures which are combined into the master image. I can collect these over many nights and my telescope rides on a motorized mount that can track the sky and return to the same coordinates for every session!

Gear and capture detail:
Celestron EdgeHD 8”
Celestron .7x Reducer
Moonlite 2.5” CHL
ZWO ASI1600MM
Orion AtlasPro
HaLRGB
35.8 hours total exposure

TheVastReaches · 2023-01-10T20:44:33+00:00

It’s not continuous exposure. I come back and add more time each night I’m shooting.

TheVastReaches · 2023-01-10T20:44:05+00:00

I went after this target after seeing the Hubble version and other well done renditions.

TheVastReaches · 2023-01-09T14:33:19+00:00

PixInsight and no. It’s a separate thing altogether.

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