Mars, a little frustrating to be honest

[Patw#73]

Took the opportunity last night to try to get my first good look at Mars.

I had very fleeting glimpses of surface detail, the north polar cap was visible only in that the top edge of the disc (through an SCT) had a white sheen to it.

I seemed to struggle to get a good focus and sometimes couldn't really decide whether the image was actually in focus or not.

I have a 8" LX90 and a variety of eyepieces down to 2.5mm, though I only went down to 6.5mm.

Question is should I have more patience?

Observerations on the other planets have been excellent, so is Mars a particularly difficult target?

[LukeSkywatcher]

Indeed Mars is a difficult target. Plenty of threads around in the last couple of days with people saying how difficult it is to get Mars looking in any way, shape or form as "good".

Mars takes time to get to know and be able to see properly. Atmospheric conditions "seeing" also play a huge part in how Mars appears. Fleeting moments of clarity,colour,detail,focus etc are the norm for most. Magnification is also a big factor.

[Talitha]

Mars has always been problematic for me too. Seems like every time it came around, it was pretty low and the only thing i ever saw were shadows on the surface instead of the incredible details Amateurs are seeing this year. But even so, it's the planet i have the most sketches of... isn't that odd?

I haven't been able to see it at all this year, but not for lack of wanting to. Every time the clouds move out of the way, the temperature plunges into the dead zone.. bad for me and my 8" LX-10. Hopefully i'll get a chance, though.

[brianb]

I seemed to struggle to get a good focus and sometimes couldn't really decide whether the image was actually in focus or not.

Possible causes:

1. Magnification too high

2. Scope not fully cooled to ambient

3. Bad seeing

4. Scope incorrectly collimated

or some combination of the above.

At any rate - whatever the cause - if you're having difficulty focusing, you must reduce the magnification.

With an 8" SCT, a 6.5mm eyepiece (x308) is TOO MUCH. x240 will show everything that a higher power will - brighter, with more apparent contrast and much easier to focus, especially if the seeing is poor.

[kniclander]

at high mags I struggle to focus because as soon as you touch the focusser the whole scope vibrates. a good tip (which I recall came from Mr The Thing...) is to rack past focus both ways a couple of time s(ie in and out) and then just move quite quickly to the "correct" point and stop. The brain/eye/ hand combo seems to work very well this way.

[pritc]

Took the opportunity last night to try to get my first good look at Mars.

I had very fleeting glimpses of surface detail, the north polar cap was visible only in that the top edge of the disc (through an SCT) had a white sheen to it.

I seemed to struggle to get a good focus and sometimes couldn't really decide whether the image was actually in focus or not.

I have a 8" LX90 and a variety of eyepieces down to 2.5mm, though I only went down to 6.5mm.

Question is should I have more patience?

Observerations on the other planets have been excellent, so is Mars a particularly difficult target?

I found last nights viewing of Mars was not great compared to other nights (especially 29/1/10) so you were not alone:mad:

My views showed no surface detail and also a white sheen,so much so that I gave up and moved on to other targets.

As said in a prevoius post atmospheric conditions was probably the main culprit with a weather front advancing across the UK

Wayne

[DarkerSky]

Mars is a tricky one for sure. It can be a hard graft to get to the detail. One thing I have found is that the EP focus point is often in flux, due to differing refraction qualities of the air during an observation. I regularly move the focuser in and out with Mars in the eyepiece looking for moments that yield finer detail

[LukeSkywatcher]

I regularly move the focuser in and out with Mars in the eyepiece looking for moments that yield finer detail

Ditto.

Fighting atmospheric conditions while observing Mars is a constant battle. I have learned that over the last couple of nights,.

[Patw#73]

Thanks evryoen for the responses.

It seems that I need to put in the effort and Mars will prove rewarding afterall.

I think I'll check the collimation and give the scope a little longer to cool and not go piling on the mag too much.

I think the views I had of Jupiter earlier in the year weres so good I've been a liitle spoilt!

Now lets wait for the clouds to clear again.

[chrisrnuttall]

I agree, check the collimation and colling times etc, but also check the 300millibar wind speed forecasts at Unisys Weather: 4 Panel (1-2day) GFS 300 mb Plot for Europe

this is the altitude at which the jetstream is strongest, and right now it is messy and blowing strongly over the uk, this often leads to a blurry image which will not focus. It is a bit different to the poor seeing you can get at low altitudes which causes the planet to boil and jitter about.

You could try noting when you next observe and the jetstream is not blowing over the UK, chances are if your scope is collimated and cooled you may well get a nice sharp view then and be able to push the magnification up to 350 ish.

good luck

[Moonshane]

another thing that has been mentioned in other threads is not to bother until the early hours when Mars is highest. better to go to bed early and get up about 2-3am for the best views it seems? you'll also have the bonus of seeing Saturn then

[AndyH]

One thing to note, regarding focusing on Mars.

Focus on a nearby star. Get it as close to a pinpoint as poss, then swing back to Mars. It's really tempting to refocus because of the atmosphere's currents making the planet look like it's waving in and out of focus. Be patient and wait for the moments of clarity. Mars IS a pig to view. Keep at it. You'll get better at it the more you try.

Cheers,

Andy.

[brianb]

better to go to bed early and get up about 2-3am for the best views it seems? you'll also have the bonus of seeing Saturn then

Yes, but now Mars is (just) past opposition, it's getting lower again by then. Best for Mars right now is between 11pm and 1am.

[Moonshane]

Yes, but now Mars is (just) past opposition, it's getting lower again by then. Best for Mars right now is between 11pm and 1am.

ha ha

cheers Brian - just proving what my signature says!

[AndyH]

I got stunning views on Tuesday at 8:30, with my wee Carton scope.

Andy.

[oceanheadted]

Finally it looks like clear skies tonight so I will make the effort and try an look at Mars. I've never been able to resolve any detail at all on it the previous times I have looked at it, plus the weather's been rubbish since Christmas

[russ]

Finally it looks like clear skies tonight so I will make the effort and try an look at Mars. I've never been able to resolve any detail at all on it the previous times I have looked at it, plus the weather's been rubbish since Christmas

Good luck with your Mars quest.

With good collimation and good skies the 200P is capable of showing a lot of detail. Just stay at the eyepiece for a prolonged period, the eye should adjust and the detail appear....hopefully. Aim for as much magnification as the sky/scope will allow and still produce a sharp view. Although the scope can't resolve anymore by upping the mags, the details it does resolve are easier to see at higher powers. The higher powers also reduce the glare. I have found 200-360x to be the best range depending on what the sky will allow.

Russ

[stuming]

How did you get on with Mars tonight?

I had a go again. I setup my SW 130P just before dusk making sure it was properly leveled. I used my 6.5mm EP plus 2x Barlow so I had about 216x mag.

But again I had trouble focussing. I think I got it pretty spot on, but I can't say I saw much detail apart some very very fleeting patchiness. I thought the lower right of the disk may have been slightly whiter, but I'm not sure if that's possible or not.

Had a quick peek at the Trapezium, but then moved onto Saturn which had poked it's head above the houses near me. This is the first time I've seen it. Of course I was impressed! It was quite amazing to see the rings (side-on admitedly) for the first time. Well worth the cold! The 'scope had frost on it at the end, so I decided to call it a day.

Nice to have pretty clear skies for once!

[oceanheadted]

I had technical problems with my Vixen GP mount (the skysensor kept on switching itself on and on off why?? - A dodgy connection maybe or low battery) so tried with my C80-ED on the trusty AZ3 mount. At 150x I could just about make something on one of the poles. I just thought how do you know if it is the pole??