Moon & Mars: Adapting to the seeing conditions

[John]

Clear conditions prompted me to pop my Tak FC100 refractor out earlier. Mars and the Moon make a very attractive pairing. The seeing conditions though, are not so attractive. Normally this scope handles 200x - 250x without breaking any sweat on these targets but this evening even 150x is proving rather much for the unsteady conditions.

Some darker areas are visible on the Martian disk and the tiny south polar cap pops into view occasionally in a rather teasing manner but the clarity and contrast of the views is lower than I've enjoyed a couple of weeks ago.

The nice close double star Alpha Piscium is resolvable at 150x but the normal razor sharp star definition that this scope is capable of is missing just now. Same for that unequal brightness pair Theta Aurigae over towards the north east.

The Lunar phase is an attractive one from an observing point of view but again the seeing is limiting my ability to burrow into the finer detail with high magnifications. It's more enjoyable throttling back and observing the whole disk at around 100x. Comparing the tones of the various terrain types is interesting. Shades of grey, quartz white and pitch black but also suggestions of a tawny tint in some areas. A refractor is a good tool for this - they show contrast very well.

It is a nice night for observing lunar rays splashed across the illuminated portion of the surface though. One of my particular favourites are the twin rays that emanate from the crater Messier A located, along with it's partner, Messier, in the Mare Fecunditatis. Tonight these bright and well defined straight rays are prominent as they extend for 100 km or so across the Mare. At right angles to the direction of the Messier A rays, a more indistinct lengthy fan of brighter material "flows" past crater Messier, widening northwards.

Another great sight this evening is the Palus Somni, the entrancingly named "Marsh of Sleep". It is dominated by the marked, vivid and angular terrain colour variation caused by bright rays fanning out in a dramatically uneven fashion from the very brightly rimmed crater Proclus. A super sight tonight.

Returning to Mars at lower magnifications is delivering more satisfying views now too. Despite the small image scale at 125x, the surface features stand out more clearly and the color of the disk is more saturated under these conditions.

I'm starting to enjoy myself even though high magnifications are not delivering that well. Give the medium power eyepieces a chance to shine. Sometimes less is more

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by John

[JamesF]

I suspect there may be a fair bit of moisture in the air tonight.  We have a clear forecast for tomorrow night too.  As it looks like it's going to be quite chilly all day I wonder if conditions might be better tomorrow when the air has had time to dry out a bit.  I'm certainly expecting a fair dew and some frost in the morning given that it's below 1C here already.

James

[Stu]

I had the same for the previous two nights John. Quite a lot of high hazy cloud and poor seeing conditions. I used the Heritage the first night and then the 8” but should probably have done what you did and used the Vixen 102 to cut through the seeing. It is amazing how much more was visible on Mars a few weeks back under better conditions; like night and day really.

Still, I enjoyed looking at the Moon, it’s a lovely phase around now. Copernicus looked amazing and it was great to see Clavius near the terminator.

[globular]

Nice report John 

I had a similar session. I was mainly trying out my ES92/12.  It was giving me 178x and just about fitted the whole of The Moon's disk in it's lovely wide field. I'm really liking the EP.  I 2x powermated it to 355x for a while too and got quite a few WOWs from Mrs Globular! (Both at the size of the stack  and the views through it ).

I stuck with that EP for Mars too - it couldn't really take any more magnification - and got some nice glimpses; nothing like previous sessions though; you're right about seeing conditions being quite poor. 

Then everything went foggy and I realised the power to my dew heater controller had run out of juice! Can't believe I forgot to charge it up!

Edited November 25, 2020 by globular

[John]

Thanks for that feedback folks

Good to know that it's not just me

I suspect @JamesF is correct with his assessment. Got to roll with the conditions and make the best of it

[Marki]

My experience was very similar.  I haven't been out for ages, but for some reason decided tonight was the night to see Mars. I decided to use my 100mm f13 refractor (one of Richard Day's Skylights based on the carton lens). Seeing very milky it seemed to me. I could just make out some sufrace colour variation on Mars, but really poor contrast, and more magnification resulted in generally poorer views. A bit disappointing, but I'm really glad I made the effort after so long.

The moon was a fabulous exprience though. Hgher magnifications well rewarded on the terminator. Lots of detail in Clavius with ability to resolve down to 6 or 7 km. Might have got better as it gets colder, but the moon was rapidly disappearing over my neighbour's house. Very pleased even so. I ended my session with a 30mm Erffle, catching the lovely scatter of stars in the Pleides and the double cluster. Finished up with a spectacular view with the whole of the moon framed in the 30mm's  field of view - like looking through a space ship porthole!

Although not my best ever session, I just felt glad to get out again!

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by Marki

[John]

Just for kicks I've been using the 6mm Ethos with the refractor to pretend to be an astronaut approaching the moon

It makes quite a sight at 150x. The full disk is visible plus a thin frame of blackness around it. When I relax my eye I can almost feel vertigo !

Also had a look at the Pleiades at 38x with the Panoptic 24mm. The 1.8 degree true field Just about gets the whole of this cluster in the field. At that low power the seeing is fine and the "diamonds on black velvet" look is very apparent.

If it stays clear I'll have a go at the E & F stars in the Trapezium once Orion is higher. They can be quite challenging in a 10cm aperture.

Cold out there - we might have a frost.

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by John

[IB20]

Fantastic report John. Certainly have struggled with viewing Mars recently, a combination of poor seeing and smaller incomplete disc. I must have a go at the E & F stars of the Trapezium on my next session. I nearly took the scope out just now but was up at silly o clock this morning, so although the spirit was willing, the flesh was weak. 😴

[John]

Well I didn't manage E & F Trapezium tonight. The seeing and transparency were just not good enough. I could barely see the 9th mag star in Sigma Orionis which is a decent "barometer" for E & F Trapezium.

Never mind. Nice session anyway

 

[vineyard]

That sounds like it was a good session John & the report really conveys the real-time pragmatism of going with the flow & still being rewarded.  "Sometimes less is more" - yep! 👍🏾

[John]

Got the 130mm refractor out this evening. Quick look at Mars before supper reveals a sharper, steadier, more contrasty disk than last night. Some nice detail should be visible if it stays clear

Got to try not to look as if I'm rushing the food now - I'll get told off by my other half

 

[JeremyS]

33 minutes ago, John said:

Got the 130mm refractor out this evening. Quick look at Mars before supper reveals a sharper, steadier, more contrasty disk than last night. Some nice detail should be visible if it stays clear

Got to try not to look as if I'm rushing the food now - I'll get told off by my other half

 

Not rushing the food NOW, John? You’re going to get told off for typing to your SGL chums whilst eating your dinner

 🤣

[globular]

Rain and cloud here. 
I still rushed my food though, during half time in the Leicester City game. 

[John]

Supper consumed, the seeing is much, much better tonight

375x on Mars and the Moon = very sharp indeed !

 

[JamesF]

7 minutes ago, John said:

Supper consumed, the seeing is much, much better tonight

Here too.  Shockingly cold though.  Barely above freezing here now (by barely, I mean perhaps half a degree at most and still falling).  The weather has changed so rapidly that my body hasn't had time to acclimatise.  Event more of a shock having spent the last of this afternoon's daylight with the chainsaw, cutting a large trailer load of logs.  I was visibly "steaming" when I finished :D

Have to be grateful to see a clear sky lately though, whatever the circumstances.

James

[DaveL59]

sadly all cloud drifting by here from the west. Did get a glimpse of Mars in a brief gap and the moon shining nicely thru the cloud while out for a smoke but no point getting scopes out to just be frustrated.

[John]

"Clear Outside" is not too optimistic about this evening. Glad that it's proving very different currently. I would not be surprised if the fog / mist showed up at some point though.

Edited November 26, 2020 by John

[globular]

100% fog and 10 mile visibility.... [googles definition of fog.... ]

[Stu]

Pretty cold here, but hazy cloud and seeing not very good unfortunately, have called it a night.

[John]

26 minutes ago, globular said:

100% fog and 10 mile visibility.... [googles definition of fog.... ]

Must be that ultra-diffuse type of fog 

Still nice and clear here. Many light years of visbility

Cold though - have to keep popping in to warm up.

 

[Dark Vader]

I put the scope out about 5pm on the off chance the fog warnings were wrong. Managed to get out from 6-8 until that horrible damp cold got the better of me.

Some nice views of Mars though. I got up to 240x with the 5mm Starguider (as high as I've got).

Switched to the moon, nice sharp views along the terminator. Then a change to the 15mm Starguider giving 80x. The clarity was astonishingly good and this EP is fast becoming a favourite. Anyone looking to upgrade from stock EP's - these BST's are great for the money.

Andy

[Peter Drew]

Best night for a long time for me regarding seeing stability but very foggy.  During the brighter moments a crisp outlined image of Mars at 500x on the 16" SCT and 400x on the 150ED.  Trial purposes only, better viewed at 400x and 300x respectively, pity things were not so steady at opposition.  Conditions got more foggy, Mars barely visible to the naked eye.  Tricky drive home!     🙂  

[John]

Still clear and fog-free here.

I've taken my 130mm triplet up to 600x on Mars and the definition is still pretty good. Much better than I could get last night at 150x !

I've now moved onto the Moon and in particular the crater Gassendi which is really nicely illuminated tonight with the complex rille system and central peaks looking splendid.

To be fair @JamesF did predict that tonight might be better than last night and he has been proved quite correct

 

 

[globular]

Jetstream looks good for a lot of the UK.... if you're cloud and fog free too (which I'm not )....

[Stu]

5 minutes ago, globular said:

Jetstream looks good for a lot of the UK.... if you're cloud and fog free too (which I'm not )....

That’s what I’m finding confusing. The Jetstream wasn’t overhead last night here either but seeing was quite poor.