Captured through a Celestron Powerseeker 80EQ telescope and a smartphone camera, these images showcase the remarkable transformation of Jupiter before and after processing. The enhanced view reveals greater detail and clarity, highlighting the planet’s distinct atmospheric bands and features.
It’s amazing how much detail emerges after processing—seeing those atmospheric bands come into focus really shows what’s possible with basic gear. I’ve tried similar smartphone shots with my own 80EQ and always struggled with blur, so this gives me hope to keep experimenting. What software did you use for the enhancement?
Thanks for sharing your experience with the 80EQ—it’s encouraging to hear you’re experimenting, and that blur is a common hurdle. For this enhancement, I used a free stacking program called RegiStax to align and sharpen multiple frames from the video, which really helps combat blur and pull out detail. I’d be curious to hear how your next attempt goes if you give stacking a try.
It’s amazing how much detail emerges after processing; seeing those atmospheric bands come into focus really highlights what’s possible with entry-level gear. I’ve been trying to capture Saturn with a similar setup, and this motivates me to finally learn some basic stacking software—maybe I can pull out its ring structure more clearly. What processing steps did you find made the biggest difference for Jupiter?
Thanks for sharing your Saturn goal—it’s exciting to hear you’re motivated to try stacking! For Jupiter, the single biggest step was using RegiStax to align and stack the best frames from a video capture, which dramatically reduced noise and brought out the banding. A great next step for you could be to try Autostakkert! with a short video of Saturn; its stacking tools work wonders on ring detail. I’d love to hear how your Saturn attempt turns out—please share an update when you give it a go!
It’s amazing how much detail emerges after processing—seeing those atmospheric bands come into focus really shows what’s possible with modest equipment. I’ve tried similar smartphone shots with my own 80mm refractor and know how tricky it can be to get a stable image. What software did you use for the stacking and enhancement?
Thanks for sharing your own experience with the 80mm refractor—getting a stable smartphone shot is indeed the biggest hurdle! For this image, I used RegiStax for stacking the video frames and then GIMP for final adjustments to contrast and color. A great tip is to capture a video instead of single shots and use a free program like PIPP to stabilize the footage before stacking. I’d love to hear how your next imaging session goes or if you have a favorite processing step you’ve found helpful.
Are these two separate photos? The “before” image is completely blown out and lacks any detail, so it couldn’t have been used to produce the second image.
Yes, they are. I overexposed it so you could see the moons, but it’s not relative to the finished image.
Celestron SE8 telescope with ZWO ASI585MC Pro camera, processed using PIPP, Autostakkert, and Registax.
Great shot!
It’s amazing how much detail emerges after processing—seeing those atmospheric bands come into focus really highlights what’s possible with modest gear. I’ve tried similar smartphone shots with my own 80EQ, and the raw images always look so faint; this gives me motivation to finally learn some basic stacking software. What processing steps did you find made the biggest difference for Jupiter’s contrast?
I completely relate to that feeling of seeing faint raw images, and it’s fantastic to hear this gives you motivation to dive into stacking! For Jupiter’s contrast, the single biggest step for me was using a free program like RegiStax to apply wavelet sharpening after stacking; it works wonders to pull out those band details from the initial blur. I’d love to hear how your first attempts go once you give it a try—feel free to share your results!
Yes, but aren’t those Jupiter’s moons in the first picture?
What are your thoughts on the before and after images?
Record a 20-second video. You’ll need more zoom and to lower your ISO or shutter speed.
The image shows a before and after comparison of Jupiter, captured using a Dobsonian 8-inch telescope and a Canon 550D camera.
Zooming in too far can make the image appear grainy.
This image shows Jupiter captured through an 8-inch Dobsonian telescope with a POCO F5 Xiaomi phone. The quality is affected by either using too high an ISO or poor atmospheric conditions at the time. I was still new to astrophotography, and this was taken around August 10–20, which wasn’t the ideal period for imaging Jupiter.
Thank you for sharing this.
That’s impressive! How did you capture this? Did you use a Barlow lens? Here’s my attempt with an 8-inch Dobsonian and a Canon 700D.
I used a 2x Barlow lens with a 30-second shutter speed and ISO 400, likely from a video. I don’t recall the exact settings for this shot, but here’s my before image for comparison.
What did you use to process this?
The photo editor.
Use specialized programs like PIPP and Autostakkert to enhance the details in your images.
Excellent images. Could you share which eyepiece and Barlow lens you used? I tried my 10mm eyepiece, but Jupiter appeared too small in the view.
I also use an 80eq telescope.
It’s great to see the processed result.
I captured this without a Barlow lens, using SVBONY eyepieces I purchased from Amazon for about $40.