Mars probably last, quite small now.

[Vega700]

Good seeing still high in the sky here in Australia, but getting harder to focus. Captured at 320 fps ASI 1290MM 2x barlow and C11. 150 sec per channel.

[kev]

The red is tack sharp.   

[Peter Drew]

Mars is actually getting better from here. The increasing elevation is allowing more magnification which is keeping up with its shrinking image.    ?

[ArmyAirForce]

It amuses me that your last image was taken the day before my first Mars image of 2018. For me in Northern England, Mars was only 9 degrees above the horizon at opposition. As you can see from the observatory view below, my house roof blocks up to 25 degrees above the horizon, while the extension shows a little more, blocking 20 degrees above the horizon.

So the last time I was able to image Mars was 2014. It wasn't until November 17th that Mars just cleared the extension roof for a couple of hours before going behind the neighbour's house. As mentioned above, Mars is getting higher now, and while it is receeding rapidly, I can now capture it and get some fairly good results. Thankfully in 2020, Mars will be about 40 degrees above the horizon and not too much further away than the 2018 opposition.

[Vega700]

On 06/12/2018 at 19:30, ArmyAirForce said:

It amuses me that your last image was taken the day before my first Mars image of 2018. For me in Northern England, Mars was only 9 degrees above the horizon at opposition. As you can see from the observatory view below, my house roof blocks up to 25 degrees above the horizon, while the extension shows a little more, blocking 20 degrees above the horizon.

So the last time I was able to image Mars was 2014. It wasn't until November 17th that Mars just cleared the extension roof for a couple of hours before going behind the neighbour's house. As mentioned above, Mars is getting higher now, and while it is receeding rapidly, I can now capture it and get some fairly good results. Thankfully in 2020, Mars will be about 40 degrees above the horizon and not too much further away than the 2018 opposition.

That is unfortunate, can't you add extra height to the Observatory? Or will your neighbours start complaining?

[ArmyAirForce]

I would have to add a lot of height to get just one or two degrees more view. On the plus side, it blocks all the light pollution and it's fairly pointless trying to image at the altitudes blocked by the house anyway.

[PGM]

On 16/11/2018 at 08:01, Vega700 said:

Good seeing still high in the sky here in Australia, but getting harder to focus. Captured at 320 fps ASI 1290MM 2x barlow and C11. 150 sec per channel.

 

Great Mars photo! Is that a polar cap at 6 o'clock or some sort of glare?

[PGM]

On 06/12/2018 at 11:30, ArmyAirForce said:

It amuses me that your last image was taken the day before my first Mars image of 2018. For me in Northern England, Mars was only 9 degrees above the horizon at opposition. As you can see from the observatory view below, my house roof blocks up to 25 degrees above the horizon, while the extension shows a little more, blocking 20 degrees above the horizon.

So the last time I was able to image Mars was 2014. It wasn't until November 17th that Mars just cleared the extension roof for a couple of hours before going behind the neighbour's house. As mentioned above, Mars is getting higher now, and while it is receeding rapidly, I can now capture it and get some fairly good results. Thankfully in 2020, Mars will be about 40 degrees above the horizon and not too much further away than the 2018 opposition.

 

I have to start thinking about inserting a photo of my own surroundings into Stellarium.

 

[ArmyAirForce]

While the street overlay isn't 100% accurate in the sky it blocks, it is pretty close and gives me a good indication if a target is going to be visible.

[PGM]

5 minutes ago, ArmyAirForce said:

While the street overlay isn't 100% accurate in the sky it blocks, it is pretty close and gives me a good indication if a target is going to be visible.

Absolutely, much more helpful than the stock backgrounds. Do you need a panoramic camera for that?

[ArmyAirForce]

I just used a normal compact camera and shot eight images which I joined in Photoshop. The sky was then erased from the image and the completed panorama then chopped up again to match the size of the stock backgrounds in Stellarium. It then takes a little juggling around with settings to get the orientation and height set correctly, but it's a long time since I did that so can't remember the exact details on how.