Mars worth the wait?

[Gadget]

Hi All

Just wondered is Mars worth staying up for and looking at according to stellarium I should be able to see it from about 2AM as I have not seen it before I would like to take a look is it to far away at the moment to make it out as a disc in a 8" SCT ? or could it be worth staying up for

Thank you

Kev

[brianb]

Let it get to a reasonable height - planets are always useless close to the horizon; by dawn twilight Mars is a good altitude & you should be able to see not only the gibbous disk shape but also some detail in an 8" SCT - providing the seeing is at all reasonable.

If it's dark enough to find Mars it's dark enough to observe it. The best view I've had so far this year was in bright twilight, so much so that almost all the stars had faded.

2009 Sep 12, 0449 UT. Celestron CPC1100, x2 barlow, Astronomik type 2c colour seperation filters + Planet Pro 742 IR pass filter (for luminance), Imaging Source DMK41 camera.

[Gadget]

Thanks brianb I may well wait it out then skies look good for tonight and I would love to add another planet to my list

Kev

[JamesK]

What will I see of Mars in my 15x70's? Obviously no detail but how big is the disk at the moment? I can usually make out Saturn's disk and rings reasonably easily. I want to add more planets to my list, if this cloud ever shifts!

[brianb]

What will I see of Mars in my 15x70's?

Mars is never anything other than a starlike point in binoculars ... it does however have a distinct orange/red tint. At the moment the diameter of the disc is just over 6 arc secs, that's about 1/7 the size of Jupiter's disc.

[JamesK]

Ah shame, I've heard it gets to maybe 17 at a good oppositon, but will still be fun to look for, just like Neptune and Uranus and Mercury...

[John]

Ah shame, I've heard it gets to maybe 17 at a good oppositon, but will still be fun to look for, just like Neptune and Uranus and Mercury...

I think it can get to 26 secs of an arc on the best oppositions - not this one though, unfortunately.

John

[bish]

I had some quite good views of Mars last year and managed to see some details on the disc. I think it was up to about 20 secs of arc. I'm not expecting to see much at the moment with it being so small.

[iamjulian]

Reading the various astronomy magazines, they say it is currently pretty small but by new year it will appear to be twice it's current size.

[Gadget]

Yes it is very small I waited up until 3am to get a look and I could not get it to focus very well at all but it was very low did see a red coloured wobbly disc still I was pleased to get a look and add another planet

Kev

[Darth Takahashi]

I agree with the comments here, Mars is just too small at the moment, especially given our weather conditions. I have one of the best planetary scope going but trying to use a 3000mm focal length scope under our weather conditions is extremely difficult, only the best night will reveal detail worthy of the effort.

Neil.