Robin,
So my first image of Jupiter and it is fuzzy as you can see. I image I need to focus better but I have seen folks get really detailed photos. For my ZWO ASI533MC Pro what would suggest as key items to change to improve the quality of the image?
Thanks,
Edmund
How to Improve Planet Images
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Please upload large images to photo sharing sites (flickr, etc) rather than trying to upload them as forum attachments.
Please share the equipment used and if possible camera settings to help others.
Please upload large images to photo sharing sites (flickr, etc) rather than trying to upload them as forum attachments.
Please share the equipment used and if possible camera settings to help others.
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TheAstrophotographer
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How to Improve Planet Images
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admin
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Re: How to Improve Planet Images
Hi,
focus is one key element (and can be tricky to get just right at the long focal lengths used for planetary). Collimation is important too, as poor collimation will give a mushy image. Steady seeing is another thing, but not much you can do about that except to wait for it to happen - if the image is jumping and bouncing around when you are watching the live video then you will struggle to get anything decent even after processing...
Once you have done a good capture with focus/seeing/collimation all correct then you need to look at the processing. Stacking the best frames (Autostakkert, etc) and then if you get a good stacked image you can usually bring out plenty of detail with wavelet sharpening (Registax, Wavesharp, etc).
Looking at your image above, it's hard to know what to suggest because I don't know how it has been processed. What I can see is that there is a fair amount of colour offset (blue pushed to the right) - this can be improved by waiting for Jupiter to be higher in the sky, or using an ADC (atmospheric dispersion corrector), or by using software to re-align the colour channels. There is also a kind of grid pattern which is odd - that shouldn't be there, and it is/will limit the amount of sharpening you can use, as the sharpening will make the grid into a mess before it brings out much on the planet's surface.
Another way is to use planetary live stacking in SharpCap - the latest updates have a 'Getting Started' tab with preset buttons that help set up the stacking in a reasonable way for planets, sun or moon. You might expect it to be able to turn the raw image seen on the left into the sort of processed image seen on the right below.
cheers,
Robin
focus is one key element (and can be tricky to get just right at the long focal lengths used for planetary). Collimation is important too, as poor collimation will give a mushy image. Steady seeing is another thing, but not much you can do about that except to wait for it to happen - if the image is jumping and bouncing around when you are watching the live video then you will struggle to get anything decent even after processing...
Once you have done a good capture with focus/seeing/collimation all correct then you need to look at the processing. Stacking the best frames (Autostakkert, etc) and then if you get a good stacked image you can usually bring out plenty of detail with wavelet sharpening (Registax, Wavesharp, etc).
Looking at your image above, it's hard to know what to suggest because I don't know how it has been processed. What I can see is that there is a fair amount of colour offset (blue pushed to the right) - this can be improved by waiting for Jupiter to be higher in the sky, or using an ADC (atmospheric dispersion corrector), or by using software to re-align the colour channels. There is also a kind of grid pattern which is odd - that shouldn't be there, and it is/will limit the amount of sharpening you can use, as the sharpening will make the grid into a mess before it brings out much on the planet's surface.
Another way is to use planetary live stacking in SharpCap - the latest updates have a 'Getting Started' tab with preset buttons that help set up the stacking in a reasonable way for planets, sun or moon. You might expect it to be able to turn the raw image seen on the left into the sort of processed image seen on the right below.
cheers,
Robin
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TheAstrophotographer
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Tue May 20, 2025 2:52 am
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Re: How to Improve Planet Images
Robin,
Excellent help. I will take all your advice and improve things as best I can. As an amateur I don’t expect to get perfect pictures, just improvements as I progress through this adventure. Based on your input, for now I will start with focusing and with live stacking in SharpCap as they are readily available to me and I trust myself enough not to make things worse
.
I will need to work on auto focusing which has been a bit of a challenge with my ZWO EAF but love live stacking. Great feature in SharpCap. Will get back to you.
By the way, Merry Christmas and hope you have a Blessed time with your loved ones.
Thanks,
Edmund
Excellent help. I will take all your advice and improve things as best I can. As an amateur I don’t expect to get perfect pictures, just improvements as I progress through this adventure. Based on your input, for now I will start with focusing and with live stacking in SharpCap as they are readily available to me and I trust myself enough not to make things worse
.I will need to work on auto focusing which has been a bit of a challenge with my ZWO EAF but love live stacking. Great feature in SharpCap. Will get back to you.
By the way, Merry Christmas and hope you have a Blessed time with your loved ones.
Thanks,
Edmund