Mars 19/4/14

[Moonshane]

Just finished a shortish session on Mars and despite really poor seeing yet again plus windy/breezy conditions, I managed to get some detail sketched out which seems to broadly match Calsky having checked after I got back in.

My sketch is here

and the Calsky mock up with my scope (6" dob) is below. 

I only managed to maintain a good image with my 10mm Radian at 160x. Took a while to see through the blur though.

[WaveSoarer]

That's excellent.

[Moonshane]

cheers! it's nice to finally see Syrtis Major for the first time this year.

[John]

Nice report and sketch Shane 

I think I had slightly better seeing here as 265x was excellent on Mars and I even ran at 318x for a while (12" dob of course). Syrtis Major was just about on the central meridian when the planet got above the local roof tops and it's been great watching it and the other features you captured in your sketch slide slowly around the disk. 

The bright areas other than the pole cap are really quite prominent this opposition. I wonder if the planet is having a cold snap and there is more frost than usual in some areas ?

Calsky is a very useful tool, once you get the hang of which way the sim image needs to be inverted and flipped to match the scope view. I seem to have to re-learn that each time I use the thing 

This has been the best opposition that I can remember and has provided the best views of the planet that I've ever had. Funnily enough I was a bit pessimistic about it too !.

Imagine what the planet will look like in 2018 when, at opposition, it's disk will be over 50% larger than it is now

[RikM]

I had a good view here as well. I made a plain pencil sketch at the eyepiece and will colour it in tomorrow. I think this is the best Mars season I have had.

[AlexB67]

Nice sketch Shane, you must have been looking at it around same time, it was pretty much facing that way to me. Friday night wasn't so good, today around midnight I wash pushing 300x again with some good seeing at times.   I dared go even higher with  340x.  I don't know if I am just having the luck this year with some good seeing, seeing it is my first mars observing year,  but I do find those higher mags do let you see some of the finer details on Mars, even if the sharpness and contrast goes a bit, fighting seeing a bit in moments where it goes all into a big melt at times. Spotted some more minor cloud formations as well but no sketches. I had too busy a schedule with deep sky that didn't suck either for me, 6 new Messiers and some oldies revisited.

[Moonshane]

I agree, it's been quite frosty this time around and has been a lot better than I feared. I suspect my scope was the culprit last night as even though it's a 6" mirror, the long tube does take a while to cool properly and it was probably not quite there. Still, I did see most of the available detail I think (through the bottom of the swimming pool  ). Also, I am always generally looking over rooftops to the SE/S and this must have an impact even now it's a little warmer.

[chiltonstar]

Between the wobbly patches, the seeing here was excellent last night for an hour or so, with detail very like or > the Calsky simulation, plus a little more frost/haze around the limbs. The seeing was so good in fact that I had a quick look at Saturn for the first time this year, despite the low altitude. Again, between the wobbly seeing periods, the detail on the rings was very good.

Chris

[Steve777]

Great sketch!

[StarSapling]

Great sketch. I went out last night and wasn't really expecting to see much, as the stars were all madly twinkling. But, once again, I was pleasantly surprised. With the 90mm @ 182x, I had some good glimpses/views of the NPC, Mare Acidalium, Chryse, the Mare Erythraeum/Margaritifer Sinus/Aurorae Sinus Region and Sinus Meridiani just visible on the western limb. It was cool thinking about the fact that as I was glimpsing Sinus Meridiani, just east of it, the Opportunity Rover was busy doing its thing.

[Dannae]

Great Sketch Shane

[ronl]

That's a very nice sketch, which makes me realize how important it is

to sketch and take notes every time we observe, from now on I will do

it even if it's for an hour or so, for the past couple of nights Mars has

been so good, the night before last was the best I have ever seen it,

so notepad and pencil at the ready.

[Moonshane]

cheers guys. I agree with Ron that sketching really makes you observe in more detail than if you don't and also that some things are so dynamic that they do warrant a sketch each time out.

my thread http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/211159-moonshanes-sketches/ shows this on the sun especially.

[AlexB67]

Looking very good right now. Wasn't expecting it to stay clear so out with the mini Dob, probably some of he best views yet out of the little Heritage beast pushing well above 200x with it. Syrtis very well defined, Hellas very bright, looks like what is a large cloud systems on the left side ( in Dob view ) somewhere near athabasca valley I think, I'll get the geographical names right one day, but there is lots of detail on show, just having a cuppa and back for some more    

[John]

Looking very good right now. Wasn't expecting it to stay clear so out with the mini Dob, probably some of he best views yet out of the little Heritage beast pushing well above 200x with it. Syrtis very well defined, Hellas very bright, looks like what is a large cloud systems on the left side ( in Dob view ) somewhere near athabasca valley I think, I'll get the geographical names right one day, but there is lots of detail on show, just having a cuppa and back for some more    

Yep, I've been having a gander at Mars to tonight with the ED120 refractor. Very nice. I thought I saw some cloud features too, around the area you mention. Syrtis Major does look rather like Africa, doesn't it ?

I also carted my scope around to the front garden to get my 1st look at Saturn this year. Rather low down but still nice. The ring tilt makes the Cassini Division much easier to see.

[AlexB67]

I agree John. Vey much so like Africa  . In some ways Mars reminds me a little of an earth like planet in reverse, with the blue tinted areas representing land or continents, and the yellow, brown areas oceans.  It was very colourful last night for me, even at around 260x, never pushed the min Dob that far before, it is the max magnification for a 5 inch scope. Well whatever the books say, it did not disappoint, if it allows me to see more detail more clearly it works, and the seeing was such there were no wobbles, the planet looked so still and well defined full of smaller features. The little Heritage 130p with  5 mm BGO in a 10 - 15 pound 2x barlow to lower the tone, it works, it is real warrior, I am as fond of that scope as ever   

Anyhoo, the more I look at mars the more  I realise the magnification that have worked well for me, perhaps being blessed with some good seeing a lot of evenings in the last few weeks, but they are much higher than for Jupiter/Saturn. 

A further little mini report while here:

To polish off the night it was getting on 2 AM or so, saw M13 and M92, very nice too. In the pentax, Radian Globs are still a fine site indeed in a 5 inch scope, not fully resolved but sharp enough to give that hint of a fine sprinkle of stars, and on the outer edges the stars begin to show more clearly and resolve somewhat.

To polish it off the heritage bagged the little Turttle nebula, NGC 6210, while I was there, a new one for me, a tiny little PN Nick (Cotterless) mentioned, very nice indeed, worth a look.

Jupiter was nice too earlier with the GRS transit, but not much above a tree for me now at that time, when it got close enough to just clearing said tree, it turned to a melting pot so only had a brief look.  That must be getting close to my last Jupiter when trees will get the better of it before dark.

[cotterless45]

Great sketch ! Sitting at the ep and sketching, however rough , will let your eyes see more details. It's the difference between looking and seeing.

I get asked a lot , how come that I see so much detail. Sketching gets you relaxed and way from trying to squint and stare out the target,

Nick.

[Moonshane]

<<Sitting at the ep and sketching, however rough>>

cheeky sod!

[greglloyd]

Does anyone else get glimpses of white away from the poles at times? (Like in the centre of the disc amongst the various features?). It's like there are frosty areas away from the poles? I've seen this a few times lately? Not on each session, just during certain viewing sessions. I'm presuming it's either frost or sunlight reflecting off clouds?? I've been pleasantly pleased with the detail I can see on Mars.

[John]

Does anyone else get glimpses of white away from the poles at times? (Like in the centre of the disc amongst the various features?). It's like there are frosty areas away from the poles? I've seen this a few times lately? Not on each session, just during certain viewing sessions. I'm presuming it's either frost or sunlight reflecting off clouds?? I've been pleasantly pleased with the detail I can see on Mars.

Yes, often this year. There is an area called Hellas which has seemed very pale / white this year and I wonder if it is frosted. There are a couple other brighter areas two and I've seen some features that must have been clouds as they moved / dissapated independently of the rotation of the planet. Shanes sketch posted on 20/04/14 shows some of these features plus the northern polar cap although that is somewhat smaller than the Hellas region. It's been easy this year to mistake one of these other bright areas for a pole cap !