Jupiter with the MN66

I have been vacillating recently over possibly selling the Mak-Newt MN66, and buying a smaller Apo refractor. The MN66 tends to get bounced around by the wind, and ruins more images than it captures. It is very frustrating. I decided to use it tonight for what the scope is famous for, planetary images. The full moon would make deep sky imaging a pain anyway. Time for a break.

I am glad I did. I have not really used this scope much for planets, but that may be changing. This thing is absolutely razor sharp. This image of Jupiter is almost exactly what the eye sees, during periods of clear viewing. Three moons are also visible.

My image does show a bit of atmospheric refraction (the red/blue on the edges of the planet), but this is due to Jupiter's low position in the sky. It has nothing to do with the optics.

I guess the little MN66 stays for a while longer.