Mars from monday 1st March

[chrisrnuttall]

Here is a sketch of mars from monday the 1st.

It was cold, very frosty (all over the telescope) and very still. The seeing was mostly average, but with intermittent very steady spells.

i observed from 21:50 to 23:50.

The first half hour was spent just looking and identifying features, then when i had it all remembered i drew all the main large markings. So the sketch is relevant to about 22:20 CM=100.

Another ten minutes at the eyepiece and i was able to add solis lacus and aurorae sinus, they were totally invisible most of the time but popped into view every few minutes for ten seconds or so, clear as anything. Also added the whispy bits to the right if niciliacus lacus then too.

This was all done with a dark red filter.

Then from eleven o clock to the end i spent the time trying to squeeze any last details out of mars that i could, using green, red and blue filters.

There was a bright arc on the limb of mare erythraeum, the mare itself looked knobbly (every now and then) where it bordered Chryse, which was nearly as bright as the polar cap. The equator looked brighter than either hemishpere, and there seemed to be a blue-white mist on the following limb. Mare sirrenum could just be seen to the upper right. And mare boreum seemed to have a subtle band of shading to its immediate south.

I stayed out longer than was ideal, mostly because of all the starring and waiting for the better glimpses of seeing. Eventually everything had rotated too far round and my feet were really cold!

[DarkerSky]

Great stuff Chris. Excellent write up and sketch! I was impressed with how bright Chryse was, and I think Towa mentioned it too. Tharsis would have been over the equator at that CM I think. That was a really distinctive area of brightness.

Swapping filters in and out like you did is definately worth it for picking up those extra bits of detail

Looking clear again tonight so I think I may be swinging my scope Mars-ward again

[beamish]

A great write up and xlnt sketch Chris

[Mr Spock]

It's great to see how the features have moved round the disc since I did my drawing earlier in the evening.

Really good drawing too.