Planetary camera · High-speed imaging

Celestron NexImage 5

Our planetary camera for recording short high-frame-rate videos that can be aligned, stacked and sharpened into detailed images.

Celestron NexImage 5 planetary camera
UsePlanetary imaging
CaptureHigh-frame-rate video
WorkflowAlign & stack
Typical targetsMoon & planets
Why we use it

From video frames to planetary detail.

The Celestron NexImage 5 is used for planetary imaging, where a short video is often more useful than a single photograph. The camera records many frames of a bright target such as the Moon, Jupiter or Saturn in rapid succession.

During acquisition we can adjust parameters such as gain and frame rate to balance brightness, noise and atmospheric conditions. The resulting video then becomes the raw material for image processing rather than the final product.

Post-processing selects the sharpest frames, aligns them and stacks them together. Combining many good frames reduces noise and helps reveal subtle detail that may be blurred or invisible in an individual exposure.

In practice

What it brings to a session.

High-speed captureMany short exposures help work around moment-to-moment atmospheric turbulence.
Frame stackingThe best frames are aligned and combined to improve signal and reduce noise.
Sharpening & processingThe final image can reveal lunar terrain and planetary structure much more clearly than a single frame.