First Mars with a Borrowed ToUcam

Hi! I was so convinced that the image would improve by adjusting the telescope's collimation. Then I was convinced that a better Polar alignment would do the trick. Then I blamed my location's poor seeing since I am in a valley. Next came the camera: it MUST be the Philips Vesta camera not being able to do a "good enough job"! So I borrowed a friend's Philips ToUcam camera and the other problems abated. Now I still do have to get better seeing, and collimation and Polar alignment. BUT, I can't blame the camera anymore. It's getting better!
(8/15/03 Mars processed in Registax)

Ed Abel
Silver Spring, MD

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Those are great images Ed. I think the more you do anything the better its going to turn out. Your image techniques are getting better and your image processing is getting better because you are doing more and more. Some of the images that are posted here are from people that have been doing this stuff a long time. Keep up the good work!

Wow, those sure are great shots! Is the ToUcam really that much better than the Vesta, or are you just getting better? I just picked up a vesta and hope it wasn't a bad choice.