Mars and a full Moon.

[maw lod qan]

After a run of cloudy skies on my days off, this morning was clear and still.

Even with Mars very near the zenith at 3:30, I couldnt  resist turning to Luna first. For a moment I simple moved around the outer edge looking at the different crater edges forming hills and mountains. 

Using a 10mm eyepiece and a 3X barlow was surprisingly clear.

But I had really gone out for Mars.

The combination in my 8" reflector brought out the polar cap and central detail very easily.

I tried  changing to a 4mm with the Barlow but that pushed it past the limit.

I have to admit this was possibly my best view of Mars ever. I'm just waiting and hoping for the next few weeks!

Edited September 2, 2020 by maw lod qan

[Marvin Jenkins]

With you all the way. My weather has not been bad, but frustrating for Astro. One of my main targets this year is Mars and in particular a definitive yes to seeing the polar cap.

Well done on seeing the cap and detail. I am using a six inch newt, and I know with good conditions I can get your current results. I had the same problems trying very high mag EPs with a 2x Barlow.  Did you use any filters?

My problem mainly comes from poor seeing currently, along with a lot of moon. I bet a week from now it will cloud over for a while.
 

Marvin

[John]

When a bright moon is in the same part of the sky as a planet, I've noticed that this can actually help with enhancing the contrast of features on the planet. 

Similar to the effect of observing a planet against a sky which still has some sunlight in it I think.

 

[Marvin Jenkins]

13 minutes ago, John said:

When a bright moon is in the same part of the sky as a planet, I've noticed that this can actually help with enhancing the contrast of features on the planet. 

Similar to the effect of observing a planet against a sky which still has some sunlight in it I think.

 

Thank you John. I was going to ask you about preferred times for planetary viewing in relation to the moon.

I will just have to put it down to aperture and poor seeing, mostly the atmosphere I think as moments of stillness and clarity were for a fraction every ten seconds or more.

Mostly I experience a few seconds every five so very challenging. Just hoping the clouds don’t roll in for a prolonged period, fingers crossed for October.

Marv

[John]

9 minutes ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

Thank you John. I was going to ask you about preferred times for planetary viewing in relation to the moon.

I will just have to put it down to aperture and poor seeing, mostly the atmosphere I think as moments of stillness and clarity were for a fraction every ten seconds or more.

Mostly I experience a few seconds every five so very challenging. Just hoping the clouds don’t roll in for a prolonged period, fingers crossed for October.

Marv

That sounds quite normal Marv.

It's rare that I get a night when the seeing is steady and excellent continuously. Most often you just get those moments of clarity when you see what your scope can actually do. The answer seems to be to keep at the eyepiece so that you catch more of the good moments

 

[Dantooine]

2 hours ago, John said:

When a bright moon is in the same part of the sky as a planet, I've noticed that this can actually help with enhancing the contrast of features on the planet. 

Similar to the effect of observing a planet against a sky which still has some sunlight in it I think.

 

I think you are correct about this. I just got up to 190x and could make out dark markings On the lower half. For me these are normally washed out, however, I still can’t see ice tonight ☹️

[Red Top Miguel]

Good Evening/Early Morning! 
 

So I’ve managed to finally get out and see Mars for the first time in months! The Red Haze was fantastic tonight, a bit more detail than previously however still no ice caps! I think this might of been the position of the moon but will wait and compare between now and October. I will admit though, the moon was glorious! The amount of detail tonight was amazing, been able to follow the terminator and watch the shadows around hills and craters was fantastic. 
 

Well that’s me knackered, on a rather negative note my two youngest will have me up in four hours so I best be off to bed!

Goodnight and clear skies Mick

Edited September 6, 2020 by Red Top Miguel
Typo

[McNewt]

My luck was elsewhere last night.

The clouds cleared just in time for Mars and Moon to rise just above the tree tops.  Unfortunately the seeing was quite poor.  Mars just resembled a snowball edged by some atmopheric dispersion.  I held out for a couple of hours exploring the Moon, but had to call it quits becasue of the equipment dewing up.  The tube was dripping, eyepices dewed up, the telrad was rendered useless.

I still have high hopes for the perfect view.  Colder weather is coming fast which usually means better seeing.

 

[Ouroboros]

Yesterday evening I stepped out into the back garden with bins just in time to see the Moon with Mars close by. It was a splendid sight. I looked out again about 3am and it was completely cloudy. So I’m glad I caught Mars when I did. 

Edited September 6, 2020 by Ouroboros

[Dantooine]

10 hours ago, Red Top Miguel said:

Good Evening/Early Morning! 
 

So I’ve managed to finally get out and see Mars for the first time in months! The Red Haze was fantastic tonight, a bit more detail than previously however still no ice caps! I think this might of been the position of the moon but will wait and compare between now and October. I will admit though, the moon was glorious! The amount of detail tonight was amazing, been able to follow the terminator and watch the shadows around hills and craters was fantastic. 
 

Well that’s me knackered, on a rather negative note my two youngest will have me up in four hours so I best be off to bed!

Goodnight and clear skies Mick

BST’s are paying off then! It was a special night with things positioned as they were, well worth being tired for. 

Im the same as you with mars, still trying for ice. I found the bright moon helped. I was going from the moon to mars as I found the brightness helped contrast mars better. 

[Barry-W-Fenner]

Mars in the 9 & 6.5mm Morpheus looked stunning this morning at 4am in the 300p beautiful copper disc with a clear grey band through the center. The ice caps just about visible at about 2 o'clock. Some great colours on display.

The moon was stunning also, so much surface detail with the 9mm.

Some of the best views I have had of these two targets.

Baz

Edited September 7, 2020 by Barry-W-Fenner

[Dantooine]

5 minutes ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

Mars in the 9 & 6.5mm Morpheus looked stunning this morning at 4am in the 300p beautiful copper disc with a clear grey band through the center. The ice caps just about visible at about 2 o'clock. Some grey colours on display.

The moon was stunning also, so much surface detail with the 9mm.

Some of the best views I have had of these two targets.

Baz

Good that you put the 9mm through it’s paces so soon after delivery. It was an unusual night last night, loved swinging from moon to mars and back. I think 8/9 mm is a lot of people’s favourite in any scope. 

[Dippy]

I tried my Skywatcher Myriad 3.5mm 110 degrees eyepiece on the Mars early morning with a thin layer of cloud and Moon nearby. It was sharp to the edge and I could hold my head at an angle and yet see the Mars gibbous phase without nudging the telescope tube. Mars was showing clear steady sharp image. Two parallel green-grey areas of Tyrrhena and Hesperia  along one polar cap were visible, and also Syrtis Major at the limb. The giant Hellas crater was brightly in contrast with the rest. This eyepiece combination with Skywatcher DS Pro ED120 works very fine. As the sky became brighter ahead of the rising Sun, the details on  Mars were more clear and contrasty. It was really stunning experience. I wonder why Mars is said to be difficult object to observe as it is quite large and shows more detail than the Saturn. The details I was seeing in Myriad 3.5 were missing in Vixen SLV and it makes me think, it is the eyepiece which cause the problem for some.

Edited September 6, 2020 by Dippy

[Dantooine]

1 hour ago, Dippy said:

I tried my Skywatcher Myriad 3.5mm 110 degrees eyepiece on the Mars early morning with a thin layer of cloud and Moon nearby. It was sharp to the edge and I could hold my head at an angle and yet see the Mars gibbous phase without nudging the telescope tube. Mars was showing clear steady sharp image. Two parallel green-grey areas of Tyrrhena and Hesperia  along one polar cap were visible, and also Syrtis Major at the limb. The giant Hellas crater was brightly in contrast with the rest. This eyepiece combination with Skywatcher DS Pro ED120 works very fine. As the sky became brighter ahead of the rising Sun, the details on  Mars were more clear and contrasty. It was really stunning experience. I wonder why Mars is said to be difficult object to observe as it is quite large and shows more detail than the Saturn. The details I was seeing in Myriad 3.5 were missing in Vixen SLV and it makes me think, it is the eyepiece which cause the problem for some.

Seems like you had the right eyepiece in the right telescope at the right time. Congratulations.