Mars 2005.08.28.

Hi all,

here's my first attempt in imaging mars in true RGB with my fire-i cam. Seeing was acceptable when I imaged the G and B channels but suddenly dropped to nothing so the R channel delivering the most albedo features is a pure disaster :S Seeing for the IR channel was about way below average. Anyway, I was able practice the technique for the first time
The bad thing is that getting up at 04:00 in morning is not early enough - the scope won't cool down properly and seeing degrades substantially after 05:00 in my area...



Best regards & clear skies,
Oliver

Hi Oliver -

Nice first effort with the fire-I. The color looks very good. I am not sure I understand your process fully - but I think you might want to collect your RGB data over a shorter time period. Mars is bright enough now for me to use 30fps with my 10" taking about 4 minutes for me to switch filters and collect 800-1000 frames each IR, R,G,B.

best,
Alan

Hi Robert,

thanks
Yes, I used the Fire-i for the first time to image a planet. I had to modify it to have exposure times longer than 1/33s, otherwise the image is way too dim with my scopes. The Fire-i cams have some severe design flaws like noise patterns in the left side of the image depending on the frame rate used and only 7bit output due to a bug in a TI IC. Sooner or later I will be looking for a different cam like the LU75M ot something similar but for now I'll give the Fire-i a try.

Clear skies & best regards,
Oliver

Hi Oliver,

A very fine image, even more so for your first attempt with the new camera.

Clear skies,
Ed Roach

Hi Oliver,

Very! good image despite the bad seeing during the R channel and IR, great color.

Thanks,

Wes Higgins