orion25 Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 I get up a couple of hours before dawn this morning and am greeted with a beautiful pairing of Saturn and Mars. Saturn looks beautiful, tilted perfectly in our direction, a bright peach orb sporting good detail including the Cassini division. Mars is definitely getting bigger and brighter, and is decidedly more reddish than Saturn. I can see a little detail now. I excitedly try out my Mars filter but don't see significantly much more detail (in fact, the overall tint is actually a bit distracting); maybe, it will work better as Mars gets closer). Jupiter, a little farther west, is an awesome, large, bright orb with striking belts, and the moons have a curious question mark-like configuration this morning. The regal Blue Moon is on its way to set, but I don't risk my "dawn" vision looking at it through the eyepiece. The air is pleasantly cool, nowhere near as chilly as some previous mornings (the weather here can't make up its mind if it's winter or spring). A little humid, so I pull out the dew shield. Well, what do you know, there's a developing high cloud to the west, threatening to interfere, lol (fortunately, it doesn't). I really want to see Mars and M22 together, less than a half degree apart, so that means I can see them in a telescopic view! Time to image! I set up the camera on the 127mm Mak and take several shots, this one being my favorite: And here is another pic taken several minutes earlier: Reggie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 love them both in one FOV like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demonperformer Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Wonderful pairing. Not easy to cope with such a disparity in brightness. Excellent result, Reggie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Presland Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 Excellent capture Reggie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkAntimatter Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Another excellent and interesting image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celestron8g8 Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Aw yes M22 , one of my favorites and most visited GCs' ! How close is Mars now , has it reach max closeness for this year ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beulah Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Brilliant capture - I was looking forward to the Saturn/Mars conjunction with M22 as an added bonus. I was wondering whether it could be visible through the telescope and then wondered if anyone had taken an image - having to get up at 4am in the UK where it would still be dark. Unfortunately it was cloudy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion25 Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 6 hours ago, celestron8g8 said: Aw yes M22 , one of my favorites and most visited GCs' ! How close is Mars now , has it reach max closeness for this year ?? Mars is about 161 million kilometers (97 million miles) away right now, well on its way to its closest approach since 2003 on July 31. It will be about 57 million kilometers (35 million miles) away from us at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion25 Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 5 hours ago, Beulah said: Brilliant capture - I was looking forward to the Saturn/Mars conjunction with M22 as an added bonus. I was wondering whether it could be visible through the telescope and then wondered if anyone had taken an image - having to get up at 4am in the UK where it would still be dark. Unfortunately it was cloudy! Thanks, Beulah. I was just able to fit Mars and M22 into the frame which closely matched the view in a 20mm eyepiece. It was about 6 a.m. EDT and very cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion25 Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 5 hours ago, DarkAntimatter said: Another excellent and interesting image. Thanks, DarkAntimatter! Mars was an excellent guidepost to M22. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion25 Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 On 4/2/2018 at 04:28, Pete Presland said: Excellent capture Reggie. Thanks, Pete. I was more excited about the prospect of capturing Mars and M22 than about getting Mars & Saturn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion25 Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 On 4/1/2018 at 12:37, Demonperformer said: Wonderful pairing. Not easy to cope with such a disparity in brightness. Excellent result, Reggie. Thanks, DP. The disparity in brightness is a big challenge sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orion25 Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 On 4/1/2018 at 12:24, Sunshine said: love them both in one FOV like that! Thanks, Sunshine. I was excited to be able to capture both of them at once! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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