by Matt Allard and Philip Steffey
Uranus and Neptune have been on our wish list for observation and video recording with the 14-inch telescope since late 2002. Our first attempts, in August and October 2003, were limited to Uranus and not pressed then due to preoccupation with Mars. On October 24 we obtained video images of Uranus with our first Orion camera, but the quality was so poor that good still frames were unrecoverable, and stacking a few produced no improvement. The camera simply lacked the sensitivity needed and the newer model is no better. Neptune, with approximately a quarter of the luminance of Uranus and 60% of its apparent diameter, is way beyond detection with these cameras. But with the acquisition in early 2004 of the Polaris camera, prospects greatly increased.
The hurricanes in August and September, when the two outer gas giants were best placed for mid-evening observation, prevented observation then. In October, when we could again use the 14-inch, the glare of waxing moons in Capricornus, then Aquarius, made locating either of the planets practically impossible. (The scope's mediocre viewfinder was as much an impediment as the moonlight.) After a missed good opportunity in early November we had another on November 19. A first-quarter Moon was a few degrees east of Uranus, but due to an exceptionally clear sky Neptune was sufficiently far west to be found, conveniently near Theta Capricorni and with no star nearly as bright (mag. 7.8) within a half degree.
The planet's tiny disc was scarcely distinguishable from a star image in a 100X eyepiece but at 300X was unmistakable and exhibited a very pale blue green color. The Polaris camera produced almost as good an image on our computer monitor at 150 inch telescope focal length and lowest sensitivity, 1/60 second exposure. Several images at this scale, also at 1.5X digital magnification, and with somewhat longer exposures (1/30-1/10 sec, 2-6 raw frames integrated), were captured using Flash-It. Two are reproduced following this text. Considering the sky conditions and the planet¹s altitude of 35°, we are pleased with these results.