Comparison of Jupiter Images through 3 telescopes

Well, now that most of the Jupiter season has passed, I went through the photos I took. I became intrigued by the differences I saw between the three scopes, and so I took the best picture from each scope, scaled and color adjusted it, and put them next to each other.

I find the result interesting, and a testament to each scope at it's size, so I figured I'd share this with you all. The small apo is as easy to use as binoculars, the Newtonian is shockingly inexpensive, and the SCT is amazingly compact. The current choices in telescopes are fantastic!

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Hi Bruce,

These are really good and the larger apertures match up pretty well in comparison to what I can see through my 6" refractor. I think that these images are also very helpful for folks who ask that "What can I see?" question.

Thanks for going to the trouble of making and posting this image.

Sol Robbins

Well, thanks, Scott. If that really is the case, there's probably a good reason for it. The first thing that comes to mind is seeing; sometimes you have to get out a few nights before a night which supports detailed views of planets, particularly if you live in areas where the jet stream passes over you.

Also, the TeleVue 102 is a great instrument, but at 4 inches your eyes must get used to picking out the detail. The accounts of Ron Bee on these forums is a great example of what can be done with that instrument with patience.

Finally, check your local conditions. If you're looking over a hot rooftop, for example, you might have a tough time making out the two equatorial bands! A couple of times, my neighbor's hot water heater has come on and the exhaust pipe on his roof was in my path, and all of a sudden my seeing is horrible.

Anyway, have fun with your 102; even if you end up with "aperture fever", a lot of people say they always keep the 4" apo as a companion to the bigger scope (and probably as the final scope after the aperture fever heals).

Bruce.

Wow, that's is one of the finest picture I've ever seen. I think one tends to forget about the skills of the photographer, not just the scopes! I hope you have the picture posted somewhere on your web site so others can see the difference in resolution.

Nicely done, Bruce!

Ron B[ee]

Bruce
Well done. The increase of detail with aperture is very evident.

I have three reasonable slides of Jupiter I use in talks which show a similar trend.

The smallest was with a 100 mm apo, the middle aperture was a 200 mm SCT, the larger a 38 cm Cassegrain.

Aperture does seem to help with photography. With visual use i find while increase aperture helps the differences are affected a lot by telescope design, obstruction and seeing.

I enjoyed seeing this comparison.

Kevin B