Mars morning of Nov 6th

[Quark]

Hi All,

Captured my best IR Mars data for this apparition this morning.

Mars was only 23 degrees above the horizon for this capture and a mere 8 sec's of arc in diameter.

The seeing was good for such a low altitude and the live feed showed some well defined detail.

This image is in the IR 807+nm, it has been resized from 640 x 480 pixels to 800 x 600 pixels for a better image scale then cropped and the canvas sized to 18 x 14 cm.

Following on from Joel's exploits of imaging the Huygens Crater I think I also have Huygens in this image.

I have indicated Syritis Major, the Elysium Planes and the North Polar Ice Cap. There is much more detail however more lines identifying the features would detract from the image.

If you look closely, at the broadest part of Syritis Major, across the top of it, so to speak, there is a definite spot in the position of the Huygens Crater that matches the scale of the actual crater.

In resizing the image to reveal that detail there is a ring artifact around the planet, I think it is a small price to pay in revealing the most detail I have ever captured on Mars.

Thanks for Looking
Regards
Trevor

[Dennis]

Hi Trevor

Nice work, the overall contrast is quite remarkable, not to mention the detail for a miserly 8 arcsecs! To get around the issue of lines cluttering the image, one solution is to make a composite, with a “naked” image on the left, showing a duplicate on the right with all the labels.

Cheers

Dennis

[asimov]

That's a nice image Trevor with plenty of detail for 8 arcseconds.

[Joel Warren]

Outstanding image Trevor, for sure, but you have the features ID'd wrong. Here is the region you imaged, but with north up and I've attached a Mars Previewer image to show you that time and CM on Mars.

http://marswatch.amaonline.com/10-24-09@1110sw.jpg

[iceman]

Fantastic work Trevor, excellent detail right there.

Well done indeed. No RGB data?

[Joel Warren]

And, I'd like to add, this is about the best image of this appariation yet that I have seen of albedo features in that region. You easily resolved the split in Sinus Meridiani. A great view of Mare Erythraeum. Part of it is obscured by much brightness. Could be an indicator of dust, but Chryse is always bright and its easy to over expose the toward the limb of Mars. Might be worth waching though. And what a view of Mare Acidialium! :eyepop:

[Quark]

Thanks Dennis, have taken your advice and will repost within this thread after finishing my replies.



Thanks Asimov, I am most pleased with this result for so early in the season.



Thanks Joel, I am not used to imaging Mars, forgive my ineptitude, I have posted a revived image with a comparison copy this is correctly labeled.



Thanks MIke, I did try one set of RGB's which were horrendous, this IR filter really does an amazing job of dealing with our atmosphere close to the horizon.


Yep I am pretty stoked with this result, check out my correctly relabeled image.

[Quark]

Hi All,

Due to my seniors moment, or was it incompetence, I incorrectly labeled the image that started this thread.

Attached is a correctly labeled version with a copy with no labels or lines on it.

Regards
Trevor

[Dennis]

Wow – that was quick! Lovely job Trevor.:thumbsup:

Cheers

Dennis

[multiweb]

That's quite amazing to see so clear details on mars. Are you using some special filter or is it your processing technique?

[bird]

Very nice Trevor!

Bird

[kinetic]

Trev,

That is amazing detail Trev for 8 arc sec!
My best shots from 2003 and 2005 don't even show Sinus Meridiani
that clear...and that was 25arc sec and 20 respectively!

That filter sure is performing well, I can't wait to see a shot
at closest approach!
I can't believe you mis-identified Meridiani LOL :)

I used to use a Japanese Mars server for my simulation comparisons
but can't for the life of me find the link now.
Out of all of the sims it had the most realistic looking sim shot
for comparison to my results out of all of the online stuff IMHO.
Hopefully I can find it for ya for a comparison.

Great stuff Trev....:thumbsup:

Steve

[slippo74]

a pleasure for my eyes... well done

[Quark]

Thanks very much for the idea Dennis, presented in this way I can put as many labels as required and the bare image still remains unimpeded.



Thanks Marc, the most special thing about this image is the Astronomik IR filter. Electromagnetic radiation at these wavelengths is largely unaffected by the amount of our atmosphere it must pass through at altitudes as low as Mars currently is.



Thanks Anthony, have you been able to get any data on Mars yet?



Thanks Steve, Mars is one target I really have put very little into over the years, but that is no excuse for the exceptionally poor effort at identifying the detail. Mind you, I was really stoked with the amount of detail that has been captured. The only thing I have for identification is a very large wall chart and when Joel pointed out my error and I went back to the chart it was a real "oh you idiot" moment.



Thanks for the most kind comment.

[Kal]

Very nice image Trevor! Making me excited for when I have a crack at it this summer :)

[kinetic]

BTW Trevor, heads up mate...the JS and MSL are looking pretty
good for the next few days around SA/ far western NSW.
Steve

[DavidU]

8 arc sec with detail:eyepop:
skill is the word that comes to mind.:thumbsup:

[Quark]

Thanks Andrew, appreciate your comment and like you I am looking forward to opposition.



Thanks Steve, it looked good tonight, not a breath of wind and I have just come back in after a couple of hours imaging Jupiter. Only got 2 sets of RGB's. The seeing was very ordinary, maybe about 5/10 but I give it a go most clear nights as you just never know when it will be a good one.



Your to kind David, thanks very much.

[Lester]

Fantastic detail Trevor. Are you using a DMK camera, just interested in what FPS you can use with the IR filter? Thanks.

[multiweb]

Hi Trevor, excuse my ignorance but planetary imaging is like black magic to me. Is this a 2" IR filter we're talking about? And you're unaffected by the seeing?

[Quark]

Thanks Lester, yes I am using my DMK.
Lester, I have never imaged Mars prior to this apparition with the DMK, in all truth I have never really put much time into imaging Mars with anything. So for for this apparition I have imaged it on 5 different mornings and obviously this has involved a lot of experimentation.
The IR filter that I am using cuts back a lot on the light that passes it and I have tried various combinations of frame rate, exposure and gain. Based on the results with this image I think I am approaching the optimum setting for this target for my setup. For this image I used 30 fps and 1/30 sec exposure. The size of my aperture allowed this, a 16" primary collects a lot of photons.



Hi Marc, I use an Orion manual filter wheel that can take 5, 1 1/4" filters. I have it loaded with LRGB and IR filters all are Astronomik. There are many different IR filters. Visible light is 400 to 700 nm and there are various IR filters as we move past 700 nm into the infrared. The particular filter I use passes the electromagnetic spectrum from 807 nm onward. Of course the seeing is still relevant but not to the same extent.

I don't know if you are aware of the work of Andrea Ghez. Using the Keck's with adaptive optics and in the IR she was able to see through all of the considerable amount of gas and dust right to our galactic centre and image directly the high velocity stars in very close orbit around the super massive black hole candidate Sag A* that resides there. Just as professionals use IR to peer into dense regions so amateurs can utilize IR, especially when imaging objects close to the horizon to help alleviate the effects of the considerably larger airmass at low altitudes. IR is also beneficial for many other reasons for planetary imaging but I think I have probably rambled on to far already.

The image of Mars that is the subject of this post had other things going for it beside the IR filter. My Peltier cooler had been running from 2am through to 3am and by the time I started imaging at 3:30 the air currents generated by the cooling system had subsided and my mirror was at its optimum temperature. The collimation of my scope was as close to perfect as was humanly possible, adjusted with the scope in the same orientation that the images were captured. I cannot overstate the need for attention to detail when imaging at very high power.

[dpastern]

Stupid question, but how did you get such magnification? I presume a combination of barlow + high power eyepiece + projection?

Excellent shot, tonnes of detail there.

Dave

[kinetic]

Trev, you are probably going to find ,(as I did),that just as soon as you
find that combination of exposure etc that works, it changes in a few
weeks as Mars gets bigger! :) It's frustrating game!:thumbsup:

You might have already found this, although maybe not as pronounced,
on Saturn and Joop as it neared opposition?:shrug:

Steve

[Rob_K]

Great job Trevor, can't wait to see what you get when Mars is 14 arcseconds in the New Year! :thumbsup:

Cheers

[StephenM]

Great image Trevor! Amazing detail given the size.

I still remember seeing Syrtis Major and other features for the first time back in 2003 (using a wobbly old 4 inch Newt) - being able to make out ground features like that really impressed me!

Looking forward to seeing what you can come up with at opposition next year.

Cheers,
Stephen

[Quark]

My unit instructors at Swinburne impressed on me that there is no such thing as a stupid question, which was good as I am sure I asked many.

David, from the texts I have read I gather that a 640 x 480 CCD at prime focus is approximately equivalent to a 6 mm eyepiece. The FL of my 16" F4.5 scope is 1827 mm. A 6mm eyepiece would deliver 304 x.

I use a Televue 3 x Barlow with an extension that delivers 5 1/2 x so my imaging is at high power indeed.



Steve, I really have very little experience with imaging Mars, the vast difference in brightness of the various regions has thrown up some interesting problems. The orbit of Mars is quite elliptical so its angular size varies considerably, as you have mentioned.

As it gets larger it will be brighter. With all of my planetary imaging I am guided by my histogram, for Saturn and Jupiter it really does need to be nearly full but Mars is a different situation entirely.
Let me add that. especially with Saturn as the rings closed, I had to alter the gain to maintain my histogram at about 250. This is also the case with Jupiter, when it is lower the gain needs to be slightly higher and when Jupiter is very high the gain can be dropped off a little to maintain the same histogram setting.

The much slower rate of rotation of Mars allows the collection of much more data and the variation in albedo is such that, I think, the histogram needs to be set lower so that the bright regions don't become saturated.

All good fun Steve and the experimentation is a great way to learn.



Thanks Rob, this has really exceed my expectations for so early in this apparition.



Thanks Stephen, yes I look forward to opposition with great expectations.

[RobF]

This thread has been a fascinating read! Inspiring image too of course - congrats Trevor.

[dpastern]

Thanks for answering my question Trevor, much appreciated.

Dave

[Troy]

good picture Trevor did you do a RGB run?

[Paul Haese]

Nice going Trev. Never imaged Mars in IR. Maybe this year.

[Quark]

No probs Dave.



No Troy, I didn't try any RGB's, I have a bit of a time constraint with the capture of my Mars data, the project I am involved with requires the Mars data interspersed with a stellar comparison target and each time I go from Mars to the star I have to take the DMK out and use an eyepiece to locate and centre either Mars or the star, so from 3:30am I really only have enough time for maybe 3 sets of captures in IR for Mars and the star.



Thanks Paul, don't know how you are set regarding IR but I would highly recommend this Astronomik 807+nm filter, I reckon it would sizzle on your C14.