Mercury

Mercury is difficult to capture because it only appears every so often and only around dusk or dawn. This picture was captured at prime focus with my SAC-7 on Washington University’s telescope. Unfortunately, amateur telescopes can't distinguish more than the phases of Mercury.

Venus

Besides the sun and the moon (and occasionally comets), Venus is the brightest object in the sky. The first picture was taken with my Kodak Digital Camera and the second was with the SAC-7. It also shows phases very well.

Mars

Mars was the closest it has been to the earth in quite a while in August 2003. The images show the polar cap and several surface features of Mars. They were taken at prime focus with the QuickCam Zoom by stacking several hundred video frames. Also, it has been widely reported that Mars will be as big as the full moon in August 2005. First off, Mars in NEVER as big as the full moon. Second, The third image was taken with Mars near opposition in October 2005.

Jupiter

Jupiter is one of the brightest objects in the sky. The most famous feature is the Great Red Spot: a storm the size of many earths. Also, four of its moons are easily visible in binoculars. The rest (many dozen) require very big telescopes, and a few weren’t discovered until the Galileo spacecraft arrived at Jupiter. Both images were taken with the SAC-7, but the one on the left was taken through my 12.5” Dobsonian and the one on the right was taken by a 6” refractor. Note that in the one on the right, you can see both Io and its shadow.

Saturn

Saturn is one of the best objects to view in the sky. The photo above on the left was taken with a SAC-7. The Cassini Division is clearly visible here. The photo on the right is one that overexposes Saturn in order to pick up some moons. From top to bottom are Titan, Rhea, Enceladus and Dione. Mimas is also barely visible on the upper left part of Saturn.

Uranus

Though Uranus is techically visible to the naked eye, it was not discoverd until the 1700's. The photo above was taken with the Sac-8 and about a 10 second exposure. Also visible is the dim moon Oberon

The photo above was taken with the Sac-8 and about a 10 second exposure. Also visible is the dim moon Titania (just above Uranus). All the moons of Uranus are named after characters from plays of Pope or Shakespeare.

Neptune

Neptune can be seen in binoculars from a dark enough site. This photo was taken with the SAC-8.

Pluto

Pluto is always a challenge to view optically. From a moderately light-polluted site, you need about a 20” telescope to see this. I have barely glimpsed this with my 12.5” telescope from decently dark site. The photo above was taken with the SAC-8.