3
I keep going back and forth on this one photo of Jupiter from 2021 vs 2024
The first shot from my old 8" dob looks like a smudge with faint bands, but the 2024 one with my new tracking mount shows the Great Red Spot and all those cloud details crystal clear, so is it the gear upgrade or did I just get way better at processing over those 3 years of practice?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
patriciacarr2mo ago
Gear matters but honestly processing is probably 60% of it. Those years of practice taught you way more than any new mount could.
3
dakotacraig1mo agoMost Upvoted
Gear can absolutely be the difference between getting usable data and scrapping a night. I've had sessions where a cheap tracker just couldn't hold guiding steady enough for anything past 30 seconds, no amount of processing wizardry was going to fix that trailing. Processing can't add detail that was never recorded in the first place. You can stack 10 hours of blurry subs and it's still just going to be a really smooth mess. Years of practice teach you how to get the most out of what you have, but it doesn't magically fix a mount that's mechanically incapable of tracking.
6
nina1472mo ago
Does that mean you think skill can fully make up for bad conditions?
3