Mars tonight 21/08/18

[Dave1]

Well tonight I got my 4" F15 Skylight refractor out on Mars. I'd rate seeing as 3 on the Antonaldi scale. Transparency was not to good in the beginning but improved as the night went on. 

My two best eyepieces tonight was my 8mm Brandon, and 7mm Fujiyama HD Ortho. The Brandon gives 190.5x and the 7mm Fujiyama gives 217.7x.

So with the seeing conditions improving on previous sessions, and the dust storm settling on Mars I could see more detail. I could clearly see the south polar region tonight. I could also see some darker patches. I did do a sketch put I feel it only really shows the south polar region. 

Dave

[orion25]

It's really great to see some significant detail now. I've pushed mag to about 300x in my 180mm Mak on the really transparent nights, but before now I could only see a brilliant, smooth, peach orb, lol.

[Demonperformer]

Nice going, Dave.

Also don't forget that the more you observe an object and "get your eye in" the more you will see.

Are you in one of the "dark" bits of Dorset? I'm stuck in the middle of the most LP bit of the county!

[MarsG76]

Yeah same here.. the last time, Sunday midnight when I looked at Mars, there was a considerable amount more detail visible than in the previous weeks and months.... the polar cap was almost glowing white.

[Silent Running]

I struggle to see much detail visually... can just about make out a slightly paler patch of the polar cap, but wish it glowed white! But I'm only using an 85mm apo refractor. I try to push it with a 4x Powermate. On camera, I can tease out a bit more detail. How many telescopes is enough??

 

[Dave1]

5 hours ago, Demonperformer said:

Nice going, Dave.

Also don't forget that the more you observe an object and "get your eye in" the more you will see.

Are you in one of the "dark" bits of Dorset? I'm stuck in the middle of the most LP bit of the county!

Ah yes, I thought that last night, must be starting to get my eye in, sketching also trains the eye to see more detail. 

No I'm not at one of the dark sites unfortunately. I'm not to far away from Bournemouth. 

[Dave1]

2 hours ago, Silent Running said:

I struggle to see much detail visually... can just about make out a slightly paler patch of the polar cap, but wish it glowed white! But I'm only using an 85mm apo refractor. I try to push it with a 4x Powermate. On camera, I can tease out a bit more detail. How many telescopes is enough??

 

With the 7mm Fujiyama eyepiece the polar cap did almost glow it was very obvious. 

Next time I'm observing I'll try one of my 80mm telescopes. 

I did compare the 7mm Fujiyama eyepiece to the Brandon 8mm last night on Luna. The Brandon was the clear winner, the Brandon had better definition, contrast, and sharpness. 

 

[Demonperformer]

2 hours ago, Dave1 said:

Ah yes, I thought that last night, must be starting to get my eye in, sketching also trains the eye to see more detail. 

No I'm not at one of the dark sites unfortunately. I'm not to far away from Bournemouth. 

Yes, sketching is a good way - not that I would want anyone to see any of my sketches! 

Being right next door to Bournemouth myself, I think you are valiant for sticking with visual at all.

[chiltonstar]

Interesting last night with the "cloud filter" in place, how much more detail was visible (ED80, x190), with a well defined white oval at the S Pole, and a more spread white zone at the N. The dark detail across the southern half of Mars was much more sharply defined than it has been - others have commented in the past on how a thin layer of cloud can sometimes improve detail.

I do wonder though how the polar features can appear to be "white" to the eye when they must have been filtered through the thickest layer of dust before the light reaches us.

Chris

[Dave1]

That sounds like a good night you had Chris. I didn't get out last night unfortunately. Sounds like Mars is slowly revealing more and more. 

Next time there is wispy cloud around I shall give observing a go. 

Dave

[AdeKing]

I'm getting disheartened.  I'm at the north end of Bournemouth and have had Zero success with Mars this year despite many hours spent at the eyepiece .  

I've tried viewing with my W/O ZS66 (following @John's success with a small OTA), an ED100 and a Starwave 102 f/11, but get little more than an orange disc with maybe some very faint hints of darker areas, but not convincing enough for me to believe that I haven't just imagined them.  

I can't get anywhere near those magnifications with my setups, when I get above 100x I feel that the view just gets blurrier and lower contrast, even on targets such as Jupiter, so I've been observing at about 80 - 90x.

What am I missing here? 

My southern view is over rooftops, is that likely to be the reason?

Ade

[Demonperformer]

It doesn'the help. 

Be encouraged - October 2020 it will be about 45 degrees up rather than 15 and only slightly smaller. Much better opportunity for us.

[Dave1]

Mars has been disheartening so far. Looking over a roof certainly won't help, as heat loss through the roof can affect observing. Light pollution generally isn't a burden to observing planets. 

I'm more Wimborne area than Bournemouth, and I don't look close over roof tops. 

I do have a ZWO ADC Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector Mark II to try out. To see if it helps with the planets being so low. My last observation of Mars was fogged by atmospheric dispersion at times. 

Dave