Lots of good Mars pics everyone! Around the 20th Sep I decided to upgrade from the DSLR for Mars. Got a laptop and a new camera (ASI462mc) about the start of October, problem was I didn't know how to use it and didn't have much time to learn. Many thanks to Andrew for all his help. Was lucky to have very good seeing conditions last night, camera and laptop worked well. Took about 20 videos last night so I've got a lot to go through, have only done one so far:
Thanks Andrew, this one from a bit earlier in the night when Mars was at about 40 degrees. I filmed right through from then till it peaked at around 49 degrees and for half an hour or so after that. Very good seeing the whole time, no wind and not a cloud in the sky. Bit of dew but it wasn't a problem, soon as I noticed the histogram dropping I defogged the primary mirror with the hairdryer and went again.
Thanks, having fun with the new camera/laptop setup. Had some good seeing again last night (18th) and had another go... next thing I've got 85 gig, so looks like I'll run into storage issues. But it was worth it, goal was to get Syrtis Major on a 100% full Mars. By the time Mars got high enough it was near the edge though, and some of the earlier videos with it more central Mars was a bit low. But this one came up OK, got a lot to sort through.
Sounds like you need storage for your storage! I got a 4 TB Seagate one today. I've actually been using a 1 TB Seagate to transfer data from my laptop to the PC for processing. Wasn't sure if it was suitable but it has been working. I guess there's no real need to transfer data to the PC if you can store it on one of these, no room on my PC now anyway. As long as Autostakkert can take it straight from the Seagate expansion drive.
After about 10 days in a row of 100% total cloud cover and rain, I struck a pretty good night last night with no clouds and not much wind. Dew fogging up my mirror was a problem again but I'm getting used to it. It will degrade some vids as fog builds up, but I figure if I defog as needed and take lots of vids hopefully some will be OK. Mars was 99% full not 100% anymore but nothing I can do about that. It's still a pretty good time for Mars. Mainly trying to get Syrtis Major/Hellas but also got Sinus Gomer as a bonus. Pic of Mars last night:
Another good night last night, better seeing than the night before. Right up until the clouds rolled in about 12:30, then it was over. This one seems to have a round area above the twin prongs of Sinus Gomer at about 1 o'clock. Not sure what that is, I'll have to look it up.
Had a look at a Mars map, looks like that area was Elysium/Elysium Mons. Now there's a small dark patch coming into view at the top right. Anyone know what that is called? Mars last night: