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Brief but good Mars tonight

Knighty2112

By Knighty2112
in Observing - Planetary

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Knighty2112

Knighty2112

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Just popped my head outside, and there was a brief window to nip outside to view Mars in a crack in the clouds with my AA-66ED ‘frac. Using a 2x Barlow and my 5mm Celestron Duo EP with Mars filter fitted there were some very good views (to brief alas!) of the planet. The polar cap was easy to see and stayed steady in view, along with markings easily seen on the surface too. Would have loved a much longer look, but clouds closed in again after just a few minutes. So far this opposition it’s the best I’ve seen Mars, so if you do get any clear sky even for a brief period near Mars if you have a grab and go mount that can be up and running in a few minutes I think it is worth the effort if the chance happens tonight where you live. Going to keep checking before I go to bed see if another opportunity pops up to view it. Fingers crossed! :) 

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geoflewis

geoflewis

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Hi Gus,

I was trying to image it tonight, but whilst the seeing looked promising it was in and out of cloud, so I took the camera off, plugged in an eyepiece and took in some pretty decent direct views with my mark one eyeball instead. As you say it was easy to see the polar cap with other surface markings also visible, so whilst I got no image, it was still a worthwile albeit somewhat curtailed session.

Cheers, Geof

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Knighty2112

Knighty2112

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4 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

Hi Gus,

I was trying to image it tonight, but whilst the seeing looked promising it was in and out of cloud, so I took the camera off, plugged in an eyepiece and took in some pretty decent direct views with my mark one eyeball instead. As you say it was easy to see the polar cap with other surface markings also visible, so whilst I got no image, it was still a worthwile albeit somewhat curtailed session.

Cheers, Geof

Pleased you got to view it with the mk1 eyeballs Geof. Sorry that there wasn’t enough clear to get any images as I’m sure they would have come out very well. :) 

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geoflewis

geoflewis

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1 minute ago, Knighty2112 said:

Pleased you got to view it with the mk1 eyeballs Geof. Sorry that there wasn’t enough clear to get any images as I’m sure they would have come out very well. :) 

2018 has been a very frustrating Mars apparition for me and I suspect many other UK planetary imagers. I've lost count how many times I've tried to image it the past few months, but with it down in the murk I have only manage one passable, though not particularly good image and that was back in June...!! Roll on 2020 when it will be up at 40 degrees and almost as large as this year - hopefully also without a raging dust storm.....

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Knighty2112

Knighty2112

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11 minutes ago, Dave1 said:

Sounds like you had a good brief session, weather has been a total wipe out tonight. Been rain on and off quite alot. 

Dave

Yeah, was good even if it was just for a few minutes. Been popping out over the last hour, but not sign of any other breaks happening. 

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Knighty2112

Knighty2112

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43 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

2018 has been a very frustrating Mars apparition for me and I suspect many other UK planetary imagers. I've lost count how many times I've tried to image it the past few months, but with it down in the murk I have only manage one passable, though not particularly good image and that was back in June...!! Roll on 2020 when it will be up at 40 degrees and almost as large as this year - hopefully also without a raging dust storm.....

Hopefully a Geof it I’ll indeed be much better. Ltd hope there are no long dust storms like this time. Fingers crossed! :) 

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Stu

Stu

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That sounds promising Gus, do you think the dust storm is subsiding or just that you caught some decent seeing?

Mars is tricky for me to get, behind the house from my garden and only appears in the odd gap every now and then, I've not spent much time on it this year.

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Knighty2112

Knighty2112

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1 minute ago, Stu said:

That sounds promising Gus, do you think the dust storm is subsiding or just that you caught some decent seeing?

Mars is tricky for me to get, behind the house from my garden and only appears in the odd gap every now and then, I've not spent much time on it this year.

Hard to say Stu, but it was definitely the best I’ve seen over the time. Leading up to and beyond the opposition. I’m hoping it’s the former, rather than the latter. :) 

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geoflewis

geoflewis

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2 minutes ago, Stu said:

do you think the dust storm is subsiding or just that you caught some decent seeing?

Based on images from southern hemisphere observers, I think the dust is clearing. I can also see more detail at the eyepiece and with the camera, but am stuggling to get a decent run with the imaging. I captured a set last night, but haven't processed them yet, so will see what that reveals in due course. Seeing was better tonight when I could get on it, but constant passing and thickening cloud made imaging pretty much impossible....

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kev100

kev100

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Hi,

I had a very similar experience with Mars last night (10 Sept), with my 250PX. Only had about an hour, so the scope was nowhere near cool enough, and it was from about 8 till 9pm. Still saw the southern polar cap very clearly, with darker patches on the surface. Best view yet :)

Kev

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Knighty2112

Knighty2112

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25 minutes ago, chiltonstar said:

Certainly a lot better tonight than I have seen it this year, with a clear Syrtis,  polar cap and sharp disk. (102mm frac).

Chris

Great! Hoping to get some more views of Mars when I return home from work in Bristol from Friday hopefully. :) 

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