Viewing Mars this weekend

[Jandy100]

With Mars at opposition on 3rd & at it's closest to us 2 days later I am looking forward to this weekend observing.

With my set up (see signature) what should I expect to be able to see.

I have planned for this weekend all through February & don't want too high expectations.

Just need the dam clouds & fog to stay away.....

Andy, Milton Keynes

[Peter Drew]

Hello Andy.

For viewing Mars you will need your 10mm eyepiece and 2X Barlow to give you enough magnification to see the details. You should be able to see the pole cap and various grey-blue markings if the seeing conditions are good. The rotation of Mars is such that at the same time of night, a similar portion of the surface is again visible over a period of a few nights, this gives you time to practice your observing skills. Good luck.

[Northern Soul man]

Hi Andy, not got your scope but Ive been using my 127mm Mak to look at Mars - not very large in the ep - its a hard planet to observe, small and bright, I use an orange filter screwed into the bottom of the ep - this works quite well and enhances the polar cap and the darker land forms.

This may help if you have'nt already got it Mars Profiler. You can see which land masses (may be Syrtis Major) are facing us at any time during the observation and you can adjust the view to match which scope your using.

Mars is a very difficult planet to observe and probably the least rewarding, but with a little patience and may be a filter, your neutral density filter, or possibly orange - or an adjustable polarizing filter (to dim the view a little) you will be rewarded when the seeing (the atmosphere bubbles and shimmers like a heat haze compared to looking over a hot desert) steady's a little, for a second or two, you will see the darker land forms surrounding the polar cap and towards the central latitudes - but be patient and stick at it.

Even in larger aperture scopes 10, 12 and 16" Mars remains very small, obviously larger apertures suffer more if the atmosphere is not so steady - so certain nights apertures that we use perform very well.

Stick at it Andy you sound very enthusiastic, like me towards the hobby and with a little time and patience your rewards will grow - take care and clear skies for the weekend and many a night to come. Paul

[Jandy100]

Many thanks for advice. I find it is always good to get advice on what should be my expectations as then I go into viewings "level headed". I have a set of the Antares coloured filters of which I have no. 25 & 23A reds, so these may help with bringing out the some surface markings.

I also have the BST Explorer ED 8mm which has served me well during the peak of "Jupiter season", if I get similarly good results on Mars this weekend & the forthcoming return of Saturn, then I know I won't be disappointed.

I am very new to this hobby (less than 12 months), and it is just mind boggling when I think back to reading about the planets in my youth, and now I can sit in my back garden and see them for myself.

Andy - Milton Keynes

[Northern Soul man]

Yeah Andy nice 1 its nice to know that your enthusiasm comes through on your posts, we're all still learning, this is a great site for help and advice and we can all help each other out from time to time and its nice to know that your observing as much as you can, we don't get that many clear nights in the UK, with the added light pollution, you can always observe the moon/planets when up and we can all get a great deal of pleasure out of our equipment - must admit the Moon is fantastic in any aperture and if it stays clear ( a few clouds in the Midlands tonight) I'll be out with the scope trained on Luna - no galaxy/nebulae hunting tonite - Take care Andy and Happy stargazing mate. Cheers Paul.

[John]

My tip would be to make sure your scope is completely cooled before viewing Mars at high power. I find my ED120 refractor performs at it's best after 40 minutes or so to cool down. The higher Mars is above the horizon and any surrounding houses, the clearer and steadier it will look.

[bish]

Good advice in the posts above. It can take a bit of patience to get the pin sharp view we all want.

[Jandy100]

Thanks for the comments from Friday. Weekend was a failure. Friday dense fog around Milton Keynes. Saturday partially cloudy, and high winds that caused refractor & mount to vibrate a lot and keep Mars in FOV, and Sunday was a complete wash out.

I guess weather conditions is the "frustration" of Astronomy. I was all prepared for a weekend of observing, and was wrecked.

I hope Mars will look good for the rest of the month so when some decent nights come around I get view it.

Andy, Milton Keynes