Observing through light clouds

In the afternoon I put some anti-slip tape on the EQ platform (both sides) hoping to improve tracking.

In the evening, the skies looked okay so I took all the gear out. By the time I was done, there seemed to be clouds everywhere. I could still see some stars so I decided to test the tracking. Results were un-conclusive. I could not get the stars to stay put and when I got close and moved to another part of the sky, I had to start adjusting again.

I tried imaging C27 with the ASI294MC but with the passing clouds, the result was awful (not shown here).

I then turned to Jupiter and switched to the ASI678MC and I got good images. Even the view in real time was nice. I did not need to post process in Siril. Instead, I adjusted the red/blue/green levels in FireCapture before starting the video.

Because the Great Red Spot was visible I decided to observe it visually. Interestingly, Jupiter is bright enough to observe through light clouds.

I tried:

  1. the binoviewers with OCA: nice view, could see the GRS
  2. the 3mm eye piece: bigger disk but hard to discern features
  3. the Baader: could still see the GRS but not as nice as (1)
  4. the binoviewers with OCA and the plastic Barlow: not good, visible chromatic aberration
  5. the binoviewers with OCA and the Celestron Barlow: better than (4) but not as good as (1)
  6. the binoviewers no OCA and the Celestron Barlow: better than (5) but maybe not as good as (1)


Jupiter with the Great Red Spot