Solar system data archive
Cory Schmitz
PhotographingSpace.com
Twitter: @TheAstroShake
cory@photographingspace.com
PLEASE READ:
Not everyone has access to or the ability to use equipment that I am lucky enough to use, and a lot of folks want to edit and play with planetary images.
Also, I often have time to acquire data at night, but not enough time to process it in a timely fashion. Sometimes the data is important to get out there for research/etc.
Please read the following document before using this data. This is not meant to be a tutorial. If you have a question that is not answered — please ask so I can amend the document! (Public Twitter is great: @TheAstroShake)
Data description document: _README_PLANETARY_IMAGING_INFO
Archive downloads
Downloadable by full archive or individual image files.
| Acquisition date (UT) | Target | Download | Filters | Notes | Data Example |
| 2020-10-16 | Jupiter | Download | IR>742nm | Seeing 5-6 Transparency 7 (clouds came) |  |
| 2020-10-13 | Mars + Olympus Mons (opposition) | Download | IR>742nm, R, G, B | Seeing 4-5/10 Transparency 9 |  |
| 2020-10-13 | Jupiter + GRS | Download | IR>742nm, R, G, B | Seeing 4-5/10 Transparency 9 | n/a |
| 2020-10-12 | Jupiter | Download | IR>742nm, R, G, B | Seeing 4-5/10 Transparency 5-8 (clouds) |  |
| 2020-10-09 | Mars + Olympus Mons | Download | IR>742nm, R, G, B | Seeing 6/10 Transparency 8/10 |  |
| 2020-10-09 | Jupiter + new NTB storm #1 | Download | IR>742nm, R, G, B | Seeing 6/10 Transparency 8/10 |  |
| 2020-10-08 | Jupiter + GRS | Download | IR>742nm, CH4 | Seeing 6/10 Transparency 7/10 (light haze) |  |
| 2020-10-07 | Mars + Olympus Mons on limb | Download | IR>742nm, R, G, B | Seeing 6/10 Transparency 6/10 (clouds and haze) | n/a |
| 2020-10-07 | Jupiter, Ganymede | Download | IR>742nm, CH4 | Seeing 6/10 Transparency 6/10 (clouds and haze) | n/a |
| 2020-10-03 | Mars | Download | IR>742nm, R, G, B | Seeing 5/10 Transparency 7/10 |  |
| 2020-09-29 | Jupiter, Europa + shadow | Download | IR>742nm, CH4 | Seeing 5-6/10 Transparency 7/10 |  |
WHAT IS THIS DATA
This observation data is raw planetary imaging video stacks created from raw video feeds, acquired with my terrestrial telescope located at Greenside Observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The TIFF images are raw, pre-processed stacks (aligned/reduced/prepared) that are ready for post-processing. More file information is below.
I would share the raw .ser video input files that I acquire using FireCapture (http://www.firecapture.de, Torsten Edelmann), but would mean tens or hundreds of gigabytes of data per night. I just don’t have the upload capacity to upload and store that amount of data in the cloud at this time.
So, I’ve done the first, simplest, step of stacking and data reduction for you, using an application called Autostakkert!3 (https://www.autostakkert.com, Emil Kraaikamp).
WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH THIS DATA
Post process it (sharpen, reduce noise, combine) to make single planetary images, multiple images derotated with WinJUPOS, animations with multiple images, combined image filters to create color images, etc.
There are many searchable online resources that go through different methods of post-processing amateur terrestrial planetary data, and any of those resources can be used to get started (I recommend searching for “Christopher Go High Resolution Planetary Imaging”).
I will also be attempting to create my own planetary processing video in the near future (check PhotographingSpace.com for a planetary image processing tutorial — if it’s not posted there yet, it will be eventually).
PERMISSION AND USAGE RIGHTS FOR THIS DATA
I grant permission for free and open use of this data for outreach, education, scientific research, and personal use. Sharing/posting/using images created with this data is also permitted. Observation and acquisition credit can be stated as “Cory Schmitz”.
For any inquiries, please contact Cory Schmitz, cory@photographingspace.com
DATE AND TIMESTAMP INFORMATION
All times and dates used are always in 24-hour Universal Time (UT) format. It’s the global scientific standard for good reason — please learn it and use it! We are on Earth, we need a global time zone, and luckily we have one.
I’ll die on this hill. 🙂
EQUIPMENT INFORMATION
Imaging camera:
ZWO ASI290MM
Imaging train:
GSO 12″ f/8 Ritchey-Chrétien, steel tube
Powermate 2.5x 1.25″
Filters:
Astronomik IR 742 (IR pass filter, >742nm)
Astrodon Gen2 E-Series Tru-Balance L/R/G/B
ZWO CH4 (20nm bandwidth centered on 890nm, methane absorption)
FILE AND ARCHIVE FOLDER DESCRIPTIONS AND NAMING CONVENTIONS
Archive folders
Each folder uses a naming convention to describe the imaging target (Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, etc.), the date of acquisition (UT!), and the estimated sky conditions (atmospheric seeing and transparency).
Example:Mars_20201003_Seeing5_Trans7
Naming convention:[TARGET]_[YYYYMMDD]_Seeing[atmospheric turbulence quality N/10]_Trans[atmospheric transparency quality N/10]
Files
There are multiple file types in the archive. I will attempt to explain them here. I recommend you sort by file name, I plan it that way for ease of use.
All timestamps are referring to the mid-capture timestamp of the acquired video used to make the image stack.
Naming convention (for all files):YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM_S-[observer initials]-[filter]-[target]_[capture #]_AS3_ap[# alignment points]_Pct[% best frames stacked]
Example:2020-10-03-2029_1-CS-IR-Mars_7_AS3_ap84_Pct20.tif
Stacked video files, the fruit of Autostakkert!3. These are the important files to use to actually create final images.
Example:2020-10-03-2029_1-CS-IR-Mars_7_AS3_ap84_Pct20.tif
Example (“conv“):2020-10-03-2029_1-CS-IR-Mars_7_AS3_ap84_conv_Pct20.tif
(roughly sharpened with automatic convolution by Autostakkert!3)
Autostakkert!3 session file, may be imported into Autostakkert!3 to reproduce stacking settings.
Example:2020-10-03-2029_1-CS-IR-Mars_7_AS3_ap84_Pct20.as3
The first raw video frame from the acquisition used to create the image stacks.
Example:2020-10-03-2029_1-CS-IR-Mars_7.jpg
The FireCapture log file with metadata about the acquired video used to create the image stacks. There is all kinds of interesting stuff in this file.
Example:2020-10-03-2029_1-CS-IR-Mars_7.txt
Any other files left in the archive folders will be ancillary and possibly leftover from my own personal usage.
