Mars currently

[Choulais]

Hello,

Tried my new Dob 8' on Mars saturday morning. I was a bit disappointed not seeing much details (but transparency was not very good).

Has anyone got an idea of wht I can expect with that scope on Mars (maybe in December)?

Regards

Anthony

[MrEd]

Hi Anthony

You will see quite a bit of detail on a tiny disk if you use a

#25 Red filter.

I remember the first time i saw a tiny mars through my old 8" Dob,

There was nothing special until i applied the filter. I could sketch it clearly after that

and married up my work with the maps.

Happy days......

regards

Ed

[lunator]

Hi Anthony

Mars is still quite small, the only way to see detail if you don't have a filter is too keep observing closely and when the seeing improves you will see detail.

mara can be a fantastic sight but it's not easy to see the detail

Cheers

Ian

[The Warthog]

Hello,

Tried my new Dob 8' on Mars saturday morning. I was a bit disappointed not seeing much details (but transparency was not very good).

Has anyone got an idea of wht I can expect with that scope on Mars (maybe in December)?

Regards

Anthony

Mars has never been particularly good in its last three close approaches. I observe with a yellow filter, and tease out detail a little at a time. Last time, the polar cap stood out nicely, but you won't get a crystal-clear view of anything. More hints of light and darkness.

[Choulais]

Thanks for that guys

Cheers

Anthony

[russ]

Had a look this morning and without a filter I could see some dark markings and the polar cap. But it's hard going and took a while to tease out the detail. Also the disk is still tiny (won't be big even at opposition) so plenty of magnification needed. The usual 200x sweet spot is too little. Really needs 300x. On the upside the early morning skies tend to be steadier than the evening skies and i've found 300-350x not a problem. And my scope is no planetary performer by any stretch of the imagination.

Russ

[The Warthog]

Had a look this morning and without a filter I could see some dark markings and the polar cap. But it's hard going and took a while to tease out the detail.

Last time Mars was about, I did a sketch at my 4.5" Tasco. I used the method of putting something in the drawing if I thought I saw it two or more times. I was disappointed with the sketch, but many people congratulated me on the amount of detail I was able to capture. Mars is like that.