Videos of the planets

Here you can download several videos of the planets (in .avi format) made by amateur astronomers around the World. They enable you to practice the image processing techniques.


.
The most popular planets...(clicks)
Moon 229253
Mars 12641
Saturn 11815
Jupiter 8557


The 5 most clicked links:
Clavius crater (region 3) 151609
Clavius crater (region 1) 71675
Jupiter from Singapore 8557
Mars (Rolf Arcan) 8216
Saturn (first video) 4154
Galaxdream 3D Moon Lamp




























Jupiter

First video



© Jean-Yves Beninger

On July 4 2007 in Singapore

 
Jupiter on July 4, 2007

 

Video of Jupiter in color

+ Excellent image quality
(excellent seeing)

+ Very easy to process
Rubric: astronomy
The website of Jean-Yves


Click on the thumbnail to see a raw image of the video...

A raw image...



File "jupiter_4juillet_2007.rar" of 225 Megabyte (1.54 GB after decompressed on your hard drive), corresponding to 3 minutes of video and being hosted by "Driveway" (I don't host the video directly on my website because of a lack of sufficient bandwidth)...


How to download the video

The video Clicks : 8557 Number of clicks and see the comments



Equipment used:

- A telescope Meade LX200 GPS 12" at f/d 30

- A webcam Philips ToUCam Pro in color







Mars


First video



© Rolf Arcan

October 2005

 
The planet Mars




+ Excellent image quality
(excellent seeing)

- Residual dust
(very easy to remove)
Rubric: astronomy
The website of Rolf

Extract compressed in DivX : (738kb)



Click on the thumbnail to see a raw image of the video...

A raw image...



File "mars.rar" of 50 Megabyte and uncompressed, corresponding to 1 minute 30" of video and being hosted by "Rapidshare" (I don't host the video directly on my website because of a lack of sufficient bandwidth)...


How to download the video

The video Clicks : 8216 Number of clicks and see the comments



Equipment used:

- A telescope Newton 400 à at F 4.5

- A webcam Philips ToUCam Pro in color





Second video


 
The planet Mars on November 13, 2005





+ Good image quality
(seeing was quite good)

+ Easy to process
Rubric: astronomy



Click on the thumbnail to see a raw image of the video...

A raw image...



File "marsssd1.rar" of 19 Megabyte, corresponding to 2 minutes of video and being hosted by "RapidShare " (I don't host the video directly on my website because of a lack of sufficient bandwidth)...


How to download the video

The video Number of clicks : 2260 Number of clicks and see the comments


Equipment used:

- A telescope Meade LX200 GPS 10"

- A webcam Philips ToUCam Pro 2 in color

- A TeleVue 3x barlow lens

With this astronomy video, you can learn about the processing of color videos. This also demonstrates how dust spots that appear on the video are automatically removed by the processing (no need to do a flat-field).





Third video



 
Mars on November 18, 2005





+ Good image quality
(seeing was quite good)

- Residual dust
(easy to remove)
Rubric: astronomy

Click on the thumbnail to see a raw image of the video...

A raw image...



File "marsl1.rar" of 19 Megabyte, corresponding to 1.5 minutes of video and being hosted by "Driveway" (I don't host the video directly on my website because of a lack of sufficient bandwidth)...


How to download the video


The video Number of clicks : 2168 Number of clicks and see the comments



Equipment used:

- A telescope Meade LX200 GPS 10"

- A webcam Philips ToUCam Pro 2 in color

- A TeleVue 3x barlow lens

- A tele-extension to enlarge the image.

You will need to use the technique of flat-fielding to remove any dust spots that appear on the images.





Saturn



First video

 
Saturn on april 07, 2006




+ Good video, easy to process
- Artefact
(at the right of the globe)
Rubric: astronomy


Click on the thumbnail to see a raw image of the video...

A raw image...


ATTENTION: The video is in black and white (to obtain better images). The output image you get will then be combined with
a color image (eg this one: here) in a specialized software, eg Photoshop using the technique of layers explained here.


How to download the video


The video Number of clicks : 4154 Number of clicks and see the comments


If you don't have Winrar, you can download it here :


Click here
(http://www.download.com/WinRAR/3000-2250_4-10007677.html)

Or here
(http://en.softonic.com/s/winrar)


Equipment used:

- A telescope Meade LX200 GPS 10"

- A webcam Vesta Pro with a 1/3" b&w sensor

- A TeleVue 3x barlow lens

- A tele-extension


Astronomy tutorial essential to deal with a planetary video in B & W:


Click here





Second video


 
The planet Saturn on January 25, 2006






+ Very good video
- Difficult to process (dust) Rubric: astronomy

Click on the thumbnail to see a raw image of the video...

A raw image...


ATTENTION: The video is in black and white (to obtain better images). The output image you get will then be combined with
a color image (eg this one: here) in a specialized software, eg Photoshop using the technique of layers explained here.



The astronomy videos are freely hosted on "Rapidshare" (I don't host them directly on my server, due to a lack of sufficient bandwith). The links below open a new window. Then just click on "free" and wait a few seconds to download the video. Once you have downloaded a video, you have to wait some time before you can download another part. This restriction is compensated by the free service and it is worthwhile to be patient.



How to download the video


The video Number of clicks : 2448 Number of clicks and see the comments



- If you don't have Winrar, you can download it here :


Click here
(http://www.download.com/WinRAR/3000-2250_4-10007677.html)

Or here
(http://en.softonic.com/s/winrar)


Equipment used:

- A telescope Meade LX200 GPS 10"

- A webcam Vesta Pro with a 1/3" b&w sensor

- A TeleVue 3x barlow lens

- A tele-extension


With this Astro video, you'll be able to learn the technique of flat-field with Iris, thanks to the command "flat". I was very surprised to get a beautiful output image, while I used the b&w web cam for the second time only. The atmosphere was stable and unfortunately, I noticed some fine dust spots on the sensor. Fortunately, they can be removed with the flat-field image. It's a good exercise, because it is important to be able to divide an avi video by a flat, because the sensors can still be affected by dust. Of course, the best solution is to clean the sensor (that's what I have done since then), but you will anyway have to master the technique of flat-field... so why don't do this right now?


Without flat
With flat
Saturn, without flat... Saturn, processed with a double flat-field...

Here is the instruction manual for Iris:

Iris


Doing a flat-field with Iris:

Skyimaging's tutorial

A flat-field image and the corresponding flat-field video (useful if you want to remove dust) made with a white sheet and the telescope:

FLAT 1 (.bmp image)

And another made with Iris, in order to remove dust:

FLAT 2 (.bmp image)

Fast processing with Iris of an "avi" file of a planet, but less efficient than the manual method:

Click here

(function compute_trichro1)


Astronomy tutorial essential to deal with a planetary video in B & W:


Click here





Third video



© Marc Delcroix

03/14/2007
 
Saturn, in March 2007


Full version with satellites here



Click on the thumbnail to see a raw image of the video...






+ Exceptional quality for a video in color
(excellent seeing)

- RGB channels difficult to add perfectly together.
Rubric: astronomy
The website of Marc


A raw image...



    The video Number of clicks : 3153 Number of clicks and see the comments


(direct-downloading on the server of Marc)




The astronomy videos are freely hosted on "Rapidshare" (I don't host them directly on my server, due to a lack of sufficient bandwith). The links below open a new window. Then just click on "free" and wait a few seconds to download the video (90Mb, 50" of duration). Once you have downloaded a video, you have to wait some time before you can download another part. This restriction is compensated by the free service and it is worthwhile to be patient.


How to download the video


The video


Equipment used:

- A telescope Meade LX200 GPS 10"

- A webcam Philips ToUCam Pro 3 in color

- A TeleVue 3x barlow lens





Fourth video


01/24/2007

 
Saturn on january 24, 2007





+ Good image quality
- Noisy video
Rubric: astronomy

Click on the thumbnail to see a raw image of the video...

A raw image...



The astronomy videos are freely hosted on "Driveway" (I don't host them directly on my server, due to a lack of sufficient bandwith).


How to download the video


The video Number of clicks : 1915 Number of clicks and see the comments



Astronomy tutorial essential to deal with a planetary video in B & W:



Click here


Equipment used:

- A telescope Meade LX200 GPS 10"

- A webcam Vesta Pro with a 1/3" b&w sensor

- A TeleVue 3x barlow lens

- A tele-extension



Venus



First video

© Christophe Pellier
 
Venus on 04/14/2007





+ Good image quality (seeing estimated to 6/10 by Christophe)
+ The cloud bands are visible (very rare on Venus).

-> Venus : 14.7 of arc second, -2.6 of declination, height: 35-40°, phase: 74%.
Rubric: astronomy
The website of Christophe
Click on the thumbnail to see raw images of the video...


As you can see it, the background of the sky on the raw images is bright because shots were made at twilight. To solve this problem, use this bmp image which represents the background of the sky/dark/offset. Don't forget to adjust the threshold during processing.


The astronomy videos are freely hosted on "Driveway" (I don't host them directly on my server, due to a lack of sufficient bandwith).


How to download the video


The video Number of clicks : 2145 Number of clicks and see the comments


If you don't have Winrar, you can download it here :


Click here
(http://www.download.com/WinRAR/3000-2250_4-10007677.html)

Or here
(http://en.softonic.com/s/winrar)


Equipment used:

- A Cassegrain Astrotelescope 10" telescope at F/D 34

- A Lumenera SKYnyx 2-0 M camera, at 22 images/s

- A filter UV Schuler 365nm



Astronomy tutorial essential to deal with a planetary video in B & W:


Click here





The Moon



First video : Tycho

© Video of Rolf Arcan & processed by Sebastien Leboutte

 
The Moon & Tycho on November 11, 2006






+ Very good video
+ Easy to process
Rubric: astronomy
The website of Rolf



Click on the thumbnail to see a raw image of the video...



File "tycho.rar" of 74 Megabyte, corresponding to 1 minute of video and being hosted by "Rapidshare" (I don't host the video directly on my website because of a lack of sufficient bandwidth)...


How to download the video


The video Number of clicks : 2395 Number of clicks and see the comments



Equipment used:

- A telescope Newton 400 F/D 4.5

- A webcam Philips ToUCam Pro


Astronomy tutorial essential to deal with a planetary video:


Click here






Second video : Clavius (mosaic composed of 4 individual images)

© Rolf Arcan

September 2006

 
Clavius

Full version here !

 





+ Excellent image quality !
Rubric: astronomy
The website of Rolf



The astronomy videos are freely hosted on "Rapidshare" (I don't host them directly on my server, due to a lack of sufficient bandwith). The links below open a new window. Then just click on "free" and wait a few seconds to download the video. Once you have downloaded a video, you have to wait some time before you can download another part. This restriction is compensated by the free service and it is worthwhile to be patient.



How to download a video?

 

Part 1 Number of clicks : 71675 Number of clicks and see the comments

Part 2 Number of clicks : 1864 Number of clicks and see the comments

Part 3 Clicks : 151609 Number of clicks and see the comments

Part 4 Clicks : 1720 Number of clicks and see the comments



Equipment used

- A telescope Newton 400 F/D 4.5

- A webcam Philips ToUCam Pro



Astronomy tutorial essential to deal with a planetary video:


Click here





Have fun and don't forget to send me your results if you can do better than me
(I do not know everything, I'm far from it!)



Feel free to send me an email if you can not download a video ...

If you get a window like this one below while downloading a video, don't panic! Rapidshare automatically removes videos if they were not downloaded for 90 days. Send me an email and I'll fix the problem as soon as possible.






Except for a few videos, all of the videos about the planets seen on this page have been made with a telescope Meade LX200 10 "(not a new LX200 ACF). The Headquarters of Meade is based in the USA and the firm shows a wide range of telescopes starting with the ETX, then the LX90 and finally the high-end LX200, with a good price for money ratio. The new version of the LX200 classic is the LX200 ACF, which differs from its brother by the optical formula. Indeed, the Meade LX200 ACF telescope is a pseudo coma-free Ritchey-Chretien while the old model is a Schmidt-Cassegrain. Thus, the new one is more suited to the photography of stars because it has a field of view without coma.

Astronomical telescopes at entry level seen on Meade's website are not particularly appreciated by the community of amateur astronomers: you can find plastic and the goto system - although effective - is not very useful because it operates on small aperture telescopes that can't solve details on the galaxies and other objects of the deep sky.

You'll no doubt have the opportunity to see many photos taken with Meade telescopes on the forums of astronomy. Without wishing to advertise for the brand Meade, I think that these telescopes (from Meade LX90 to LX200 ACF) have a large potential on ccd imaging and video. If you are photographing with this type of telescope, be aware that you'll be forced to limit the length of your exposures in order to avoid the field rotation effect which is inherent with alt-azimuth mounts. Fortunately, it is easily removed by a computer (see technical section of my site). For deep sky imaging, it is necessary to have a wedge placed below the fork mount.

Celestron is the direct competitor of Meade, but I'm not familiar with this brand, so I won't say anything about it.

I describe in more detail my views on Meade's astronomy equipment on this page.