Jump to content

Poor colour and poor detail - MARS!


Recommended Posts

Hi

I've been observing Mars through my Skymax 127 Mak for the past few weeks on and off but haven't been able to make out any real surface features (well may be a blur if I really try) and it's actually been a lot paler than I was expecting. I expected to see a 'redder' imagine with darker patches of surface detail but all I'm able to achieve is a very faint pink disc....i'd describe it as more white than red!

I read another thread where someone was saying something similar and the responses were all asking if they were sure it was Mars......well I'm certain it is .... but I just need some advice on how to achieve a sharper and clearer image with more colour!

I've been using a 2x barlow with a 10mm or 25mm ep. That's all I've got at present.

I'm waiting on a delivery of some w/o binoviewers and 2x Meade 4000 series zoom lenses but until they arrive does anyone have any advice?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

JOE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks I guess that it some comfort knowing it's not just me. I should have added that the lenses I currently have are the ones that came with the scope.....which I assume are poor quality basic things.

I wonder what impacts a better set of EP's will have generally? And also what effect the zoom lenses and bino viewers will have.....when they finally get here!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mars is notoriously difficult. I have only really seen vague surface detail, and that required very good seeing conditions. In my refractor, I get an orange disc that is really hard to focus most of the time, and a lot of shimmering. Mars comes into opposition around mid-March, so, weather provided, you should get a better view then, but don't expect miracles :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Opposition of Mars is 3rd March. Closest approach to Earth is 5th March. It soon starts receding after that I'm afraid.

Simple eyepieces like orthoscopics are generally the best to bring out contrast in the planets. Good viewing conditions and well collimated, cooled scopes are even more important.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

to add have you tryed a bit less power i.e. just your 10mm e.p. more is not always better

I did and image was slightly improved but still not as much colour or details as I was hoping for.....although when I did Mars was much lower in the sky and hovering above my neighbour's house as well which probably didn't help either!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mars is a difficult Planet to observe and requires a well collimated scope and a great deal of patience as it is very susceptible to atmospheric conditions. The best advice has always been to get comfy and sit at the eyepiece to wait for those fleeting moments of steady atmosphere when surface detail emerge from the blur. The Earth catches up with Mars approx. every 2 years (Opposition) which will occur again next week. At opposition Mars will be at its closest, largest and brightest and be up from Sunset to Sunrise (like a full moon). Due to the elliptical orbits some oppositions are better than others (see diagram) and this one isn't that good apart from the planet being high in the sky. the 2003 opposition was excellent and 2005 almost as good. The next time we are up close and personal at oppostion will be 2018. Well I did say that observing Mars requires patience.

post-15108-133877737562_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mars is a difficult Planet to observe and requires a well collimated scope and a great deal of patience as it is very susceptible to atmospheric conditions. The best advice has always been to get comfy and sit at the eyepiece to wait for those fleeting moments of steady atmosphere when surface detail emerge from the blur. The Earth catches up with Mars approx. every 2 years (Opposition) which will occur again next week. At opposition Mars will be at its closest, largest and brightest and be up from Sunset to Sunrise (like a full moon). Due to the elliptical orbits some oppositions are better than others (see diagram) and this one isn't that good apart from the planet being high in the sky. the 2003 opposition was excellent and 2005 almost as good. The next time we are up close and personal at oppostion will be 2018. Well I did say that observing Mars requires patience.

Thanks Mike very useful advice! I'll keep at it then.......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 10 and barlow mean 5mm at 1500 FL that is 300x.

Suspect that this is outside the reasonable capabilities of the scope, and general observing conditions.

The barlow and the 10mm are generally poor, so the chance of anything clear/sharp is low.

So too much magnification and poor optics.

Suggest you aim for 200x and something like 250x, means a 7.5mm and a 6mm.

Choices in this area are the TMB Planetary's, plossl's and Celestron X-Cel's.

I would guess that a 7mm X-Cel would show a lot more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FYI I looked at Mars again last night with my 127mm Mak (SW) and had probably the best view of Mars this apparition, with a really clear ice cap and bags of detail elsewhere. i was using a 15mm EP with a 2x barlow (ie x200). The EP and barlow are Celestron Omni series - nothing fancy but give much better images than the SW 10mm included with the scope (which I think is a bit longer fl than the 10mm stated).

The seeing was very good and I left the scope for about 1/2 hours to reach temperature equilibrium.

The moral is; the seeing has to be good, and leave the scope to settle down - the first 15 mins or so, you will get a boiling blob for most of the time.

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My best Planetary views have been with Baader MC Orthoscopics, echoing what John has already mentioned, narrow FOV but good contrast and sharpness when the seeing is good and reasonably priced s/h, but a bit like hens teeth at the moment :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i use color filters on mars to tease out those details the 9.25 sc shows it great with 7mm x- cel lx ep in the 12"reflecor its not bad depends on the night ,usally i can see the polar region,and a dark L shape pattern in the middle and two small dark lines near the bottom makes a great web cam target with barlow,even when its just a orange blob its still mars

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was out looking at Mars at 2am yesterday morning, setup of a 127 Mak, 7mm X-Cel LX EP and a manual alt-az mount. For the first time I was starting to see maybe two dark patches one just below the pole and on the southern hemisphere.

This was in the moments of best seeing which occurred about once every 2-3 passes of Mars across the EP with me sat there holding my breath and trying not to move a muscle, less I cause the image to unsettle.

I've got a few colour filters on order from SnS which I'm hoping will be shipped / arrive soon, as I'm interested to see if I can make any more of the detail out, while it's at or near opposition.

I wasn't expecting much from Mars before I saw it having read other comments about it being quite featureless in a small scope but even without the surface detail, seeing the colour of it and the tiny white polar icecap, I've been very pleased.

It's a hard one to swing the eye piece away from for me.

Tyr

Ps there's an excellent article on Mars in the current (I think) edition of the sky at night magazine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.