Fuzzy Mars

[Tutankhpip]

Hey everyone,

I'm new to this site. Only been viewing about a month now and I'm just wondering something. I've seen Saturn pretty clearly and I understand that Venus wont appear as much more than a bright dot because of its atmosphere but why cant I get a good look at Mars? It just looks like an orangy red dot.

Is this typical of Mars?

Thanks in advance

P

[John]

Mars is really tiny at the moment - I've found even at 340x it's difficult to discern any details on it's tiny disk.

It will get bigger again on it's next opposition in the winter / spring of 2011/12.

Sorry it's a bit of a wait !.

[Tutankhpip]

Ah no worries. I've got plenty more to keep me busy until then!

Thanks for the help

[BazMark]

Best time to get a good view of Venus is when it first becomes visible to the naked eye just after sundown and when the sky is still relatively light and it is fairly high in the sky.

Last evening I had it at 250x in my Skymax 127 with a TS Planetary 6mm and had a pretty good view of it's gibbous phase. As it got lower it began to drift in and out of focus due to poorer seeing closer to the horizon (hot rooftops etc). It's never been as clear as Saturn though. I can't wait to see Venus it in it's cresent phase. It should be a lot bigger then as it's closer to us.

I actually managed to find Venus at 1.30pm with my trusty 10x50 binos yesterday. It was quite something to see what appears as a star in broad daylight.

[Chris_J]

Can't agree more with the comments on observing Venus. I struggled getting anything more than a bubbling disc, until I viewed it last night a few minutes after sunset. At 150x, I could finally see the lovely gibbous phase. Whenever Venus is at gibbous phase, remember that it is also very small.

[Vic&Al]

Hi there,

we are also new to observing, but we have found when viewing Mars depending on the 'seeing' it can appear blurry one minute then come into crisp focus the next so it is worth spending a good few minutes looking at the blur to see if it comes into focus, I believe this is due to atmospherics. The longer you look the more detail you can perceive. Also a few minutes collimating your newt before a viewing session can make all the difference. Hope this helps

[Tutankhpip]

I wouldnt mind but I watched Mars for nearly an hour on Saturday and still nothing. I think I need a Barlow or some mag lens because I'm only viewing at 65x

[Chris_J]

Barlow that and you'll have something pretty close to your maximum magnification and a reasonable view of the planets. 65x IMO is too low to see much detail.

Again, remember you'll struggle with Mars now. See if you can see the phase of Venus.

[Daniel-K]

mars is going away from us further as each day comes and goes i personaly would do some obs of the moon and have a look at the double double under vega try downloading stellarium its free helped me loads!