Jupiter and Ganymede

Jupiter, with one of its moons, Ganymede, casting its shadow onto the planet. (30/12/2025)

At last, we had another clear night! The moon was almost full, and I was surprised how much its brightness swamped out the light from stars I had come to know as friends, making navigation around the night sky more difficult. However, there was no mistaking Jupiter, especially as it was nearing opposition. 

Now, this is not the best shot of Jupiter you will ever see, but the exciting thing is that I managed to capture Ganymede and its shadow on the planet. Ganymede (the largest moon in the solar system) is that feint, small blob standing just separate from the disc of the planet in the image's top-left. The shadow is the 'hole' in the disc of the planet.

I'm still learning how to image planets (and everything else, to be honest) but I am nevertheless quite pleased with what I achieved before the cold rendered my fingertips unusable! This image is the result of stacking the best nine frames out of 29 taken with my mobile phone mounted at the eyepiece of my telescope.

Equipment

Telescope: Sky-watcher 130PDS on EQM-35 equatorial mount with SynScan GoTo
Camera: Samsung Galaxy A41 phone.
Processing Software: Siril with Starnet++, GIMP

Exposures

9 out of 29 jpeg auto exposures at ISO 100 

Messier 31 - The Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy, a mere 2.5 million light-years from my back garden (25/10/2025).

This is my first serious attempt at photographing a deep space object. When your peer into your 'scope, the galaxy is just a fuzzy blur because, unlike a camera, your eye does not integrate what it sees. 

My camera—an entry level DLSR—produces both jpeg and raw images. I was amazed by my first view of a single jpeg image, and by how much I could improve that image just with the editing facilities on my phone. However, processing the raw images with dedicated astrophotography software to remove noise, sensor imperfections and light pollution left me with an image that blew me away.

I had to wait a long time for clear skies (not unusual where I live) but it was well worth it. 

Equipment

Telescope: Sky-watcher 130PDS on EQM-35 equatorial mount with SynScan GoTo
Camera: Nikon D3500 DSLR, controlled with qDslrDashboard running on my Samsung Galaxy A41 phone.
Processing Software: Siril with Starnet++, GIMP

Exposures

Lights: 12 x 2m ISO 800
Darks: 12 x 2m ISO 800
Flats: 12 x 1/500s ISO 800
Dark Flats: 12  x 1/500 ISO 800