Mars 20th Sept

[RobertI]

Another quick session with my new 102ED-R mounted the altaz SkyTee2 and my second attempt at a sketch of Mars. I found #12 filter helped to improve contrast a little....possibly. The rough sketch was from around 30 minutes of observing with Mars at an altitude of 35 - 40 degrees. I think with a driven mount and more time I would have been able to tease out a lot more detail. I've rotated the sketch to compare against a map from Mars Mapper - I can see a vague similarity between the two! Magnification was upto x200.

 

 

 

I think the 'notch' in my sketch is the area between Sinus Margaritifer and Sinus Meridiani. These sketches are certainly making me learn the features of Mars but I am finding it quite difficult to find a Map which allows me to clearly identify them. I am also finding the naming conventions for features a bit counterintuitive (eg: unlike the moon, a sinus does not look like a 'bay' at all to me) and the names are slightly different on different maps. Also it's not always clear whether the feature label is referring to the bright feature or the dark feature. I've read a lot of resources on observing Mars, but still no clearer to a solution, although Mars Mapper is probably the best I've come accross so far.

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by RobertI

[Fraunhoffer]

Great sketch. Thanks for the tip about Mars mapper. I too struggle to align sketches with a map. I've been using sky and telescopes Mars Profiler, which shows what's visible at any date and time. It has a flat map projection though.

 

[mikeDnight]

A nice sketch Rob,

Mars can be confusing because the names of features have changed over the years. Also, its the dark albedo features that were thought to be seas, hence the terms Mare and sinus etc. So you may find the same area with a different name to the one you're used to, but don't let it bother you too much, just enjoy observing and sketching as much of the subtle detail as you can, and posting them of course. They are greatly encouraging.☺

Edited September 20, 2020 by mikeDnight

[markse68]

Hi Robert, nice sketch  When I saw it though I figured you must be in a different country as it is rotated far from what I was seeing last night- what time were you looking at it?

Mark

[jock1958]

Hi @RobertI I was out at 1am this morning but the views were unsteady and I couldn't discern any significant detail apart from the brilliant white SPC and blueish grey NP hood. Thanks for the Mars Mapper heads up will give that a go. I've been using SS Plus but the albedo features (when I can see them) don't match up with what I'm looking at through the eyepiece, I might be using it incorrectly?

[markse68]

1 minute ago, jock1958 said:

I might be using it incorrectly?

I “think“ the features change quite a lot as the dust storms move the regolith  around and reveal the bedrock below- I noticed too that it needs quite a bit of imagination to match the SS image to the ep view!

[CraigT82]

Nice sketch. I agree it can be hard to put a name to a feature, some maps flat out contradict each other!

These are two I've found online that I use regularly, I think the colour one is credit to Damian Peach but can't for the life of me find who did the b/w one.

 

[RobertI]

3 hours ago, markse68 said:

Hi Robert, nice sketch  When I saw it though I figured you must be in a different country as it is rotated far from what I was seeing last night- what time were you looking at it?

Mark

Thanks Mark. I was observing at around midnight, the orientation was different (I flipped it to match the Mars Mapper image), but the same details. What equipment were you using?

[RobertI]

13 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

Nice sketch. I agree it can be hard to put a name to a feature, some maps flat out contradict each other!

These are two I've found online that I use regularly, I think the colour one is credit to Damian Peach but can't for the life of me find who did the b/w one.

Very useful Maps, thanks Craig, might print these.

[RobertI]

5 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

A nice sketch Rob,

Mars can be confusing because the names of features have changed over the years. Also, its the dark albedo features that were thought to be seas, hence the terms Mare and sinus etc. So you may find the same area with a different name to the one you're used to, but don't let it bother you too much, just enjoy observing and sketching as much of the subtle detail as you can, and posting them of course. They are greatly encouraging.☺

Ah that explains some of the confusion, thanks Mike. I will carry on sketching (sounds like a movie!)

[Chris]

That's great Rob, nice sketch and glad you're getting plenty of time with your new scope. I must check out Mars mapper, it was only earlier today I was wondering how to orientate my latest Mars image. I ended up places the polar cap at the 11 O'clock position instead of the 2 O'clock position but not too far off. 

[markse68]

1 hour ago, CraigT82 said:

Nice sketch. I agree it can be hard to put a name to a feature, some maps flat out contradict each other!

These are two I've found online that I use regularly, I think the colour one is credit to Damian Peach but can't for the life of me find who did the b/w one.

 

It’s a shame the SS mars globe isn’t better labelled and more detailed- the identifiers they use are huge circles that encompass vast areas so it’s not very useful. Hope they update/upgrade if at some point

[markse68]

56 minutes ago, RobertI said:

Thanks Mark. I was observing at around midnight, the orientation was different (I flipped it to match the Mars Mapper image), but the same details. What equipment were you using?

I only really use one scope Rob- my fullerscope. I was out later than you which explains it- hadn’t realised how fast Mars turns- well it’s only slightly slower than we’re turning so when i packed up 2hrs later it would have turned a good 30deg or so revealing the finger features I saw- I think i must have been seeing that same notch only it had moved further to the left by then.

Mark

[RobertI]

11 minutes ago, markse68 said:

It’s a shame the SS mars globe isn’t better labelled and more detailed- the identifiers they use are huge circles that encompass vast areas so it’s not very useful. Hope they update/upgrade if at some point

Yes I found the same. And I have  also found that different maps/globes give a very different rendition of the same view (especially in terms of light and dark) , despite the fact they are showing the same things. Sometimes I can’t match the map to what I have sketched, and then when switching to a different map it looks very similar to my sketch!

Edited September 20, 2020 by RobertI