Moon, Venus, And Mars This Morning

[cloudsweeper]

5.50am - AR 102S frac again - Moon and Venus 4deg apart at about 30deg in the east, and just above rooftops.  Sky lightening.  Nice Earthshine from Luna, against her slim, waning crescent.  Venus, in contrast, was slightly gibbous.  Moon - a little purple fringing; Venus - lots of it.  In the 'scope, Gamma Cnc was clear above the Moon.  Mags up to x150.

6.05am - over to Mars, 35deg, SW, about to sink below trees.  At x150, it was very sharp, with only scant glare and fringing.  I was pleased to see some detail again - a dark, low albedo band running diagonally, and beneath that, the southern ice cap.  Mags up to x200, still sharp.  Finished at 6.30am.

I also had a session last evening with this 'scope on the Celestron GoTo (keeping below about 60deg!), taking in Jupiter and the lovely Wild Duck (open) Cluster in Scutum.  Having mainly done lunar and planetary lately, it was good to get immersed in such a target, with its bright pair and a single star, and a dense patch of stars around the latter which resolved nicely at x150.

Doug.

 

[wookie1965]

Nice concise report Doug Sunday night was brilliant for me it was the first time I had seen any detail on Mars.

[cloudsweeper]

25 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Nice concise report Doug Sunday night was brilliant for me it was the first time I had seen any detail on Mars.

Thanks Paul.  Yes - I had previously only detected blurred albedo differences, but last month it was all clearer, and I also bagged the southern polar cap for the first time.  Since then, I've seen those details quite a few times.  Combination of conditions and experience, I wonder??  (Similar thing with the GRS - seems that after you've cracked a target, it gets easier!)

Doug.