orion25

Great images, Craig!

Awesome detail!

Not too bad considering the conditions. Just wait until a night of good seeing and when Mars is at its highest elevation for your location and try again. I know it's been over a month since opposition but Mars is still a respectable size right now. Don't give up! Regards, Reggie

Thanks, Keith! I use FireCapture , Registax 6 and Photo shop as well. The key for me is making sure the elevation and the seeing is excellent. Mars is giving us great elevation but the seeing must also be great for the best images. I make sure the camera gain is not too high or low, but just enough to give me a good image on my laptop. I carefully focus my scope and if I can see decent detail on the screen (like the polar cap), I'm pretty sure I'll get good data to stack. Believe it or not, I only capture about 30 seconds of data max and then go straight to Registax 6. You may have to be creative with the settings to get the best image. Try some different settings, tickle the wavelets so to speak, as see what works best for you.

I've officially ended my Mars imaging for this apparition but the observing will continue for bit longer. Here are two of my best images from 2020, ironically neither from the dates of perigee or opposition. I was stoked to get Olympus Mons and Syrtis Major never disappoints: Orion SkyView Pro 180mm Mak-Cass, ZWO ASI224MC, Celestron 2x barlow Captured using FireCapture, processed in Registax 6, post-processing in Photoshop To Mars! Reggie

Stunning!

I saw two fireballs already, both in the southern sky heading west at about the same time on two different nights 😮

Beautiful image. It looks like a painting 😮. The polar cap was much larger then than it is now.

That's a great image!

Nice, George. I've enjoyed imaging Mars this apparition as well

Is that Elysium Mons? It looks like Olympus.

Top shelf image, Pete. That's a really nice one there Regards, Reggie 🚀

Thanks! This apparition of Mars has more than made up for 2018's global dust event

Thanks, Mark. Cool avatar! Reggie

Let's shoot for that miracle, Gus Sometimes, the best nights are work nights and the weekends are mush, lol! So what if I lose a little sleep, haha

Thanks, Gus. I'm taking advantage of this great apparition

Couldn't resist another imaging session with Mars as Syrtis Major was on major display, the sky was clear and still and Mars was at amazing altitude: Orion SkyView Pro 180mm Mak-Cass, ZWO ASI224MC, Celestron 2x barlow. Processed in Registax 6/Photoshop The south polar cap and north polar hood were visible also, as a number of albedo features. To Mars! Reggie

Great collage! You have a nice document of this great apparition of Mars Regards, Reggie

Facing east and looking overhead you'll notice a conspicuous big square known by Western astronomers as Pegasus the Winged Horse. But it is known by other names in other cultures like Mooz the Moose by the Ojibwe, the Kite of Kawelo by the Polynesians, Keya the Turtle by the Lakota, and the Giant by the Ancient Egyptians (Citizens of Ancient Kemet). See Pegasus in a whole new way! Reggie

Thanks, Pete. Mars is really making a great apparition this time around