Mars, IR + IRGB, morning of Nov 15th

[Quark]

Hi All,

Initially this morning the seeing was abysmal, clearly 1 / 10, at least it was at the low altitude of Mars. There must have been some cloud that I couldn't see as even with the correct capture settings my histogram was only about 1/3 full. I thought about going back to bed but stuck it out until about 4 AM CSST, when things gradually started to improve.

By about 4:20AM CSST the image was quite reasonable with the seeing at about 5 / 10 so I started to capture data.

I have posted an IR image from 18:25 UTC along with a labeled comparison image, these have been resized by 150%.

Before I packed up I captured a IR G B set for an attempt at a colour image. I have posted the image at the original 640 x 480 pixel size along with a 150% resized version.

Thanks for looking.
Regards
Trevor

[Clayton]

Very nice result Trevor. It's a tough target right now for us southerners

[Quark]

Thanks very much Clayton and welcome to IIS:welcome:
Yes it is a bit of a race to get my primary to ambient temp, then allow enough time for the air currents that the Peltier creates to subside, all before the morning twilight spoils the party.

The best thing is that it is rising earlier each day and climbing ever higher it progresses toward opposition.

[iceman]

The IR really helps cut through the seeing. Nice work Trevor.

[Paul Haese]

Nice despite the seeing Trevor.

[Quark]

Thanks Paul, I am thinking that, maybe I should have hung on to the 5x Powermate instead of exchanging it for the Televue 3x Barlow. The Powermate gave me about 7.5 x which increased my image scale to the point that Jupiter wouldn't fit on my chip. With the resolution I am getting with this IR filter my data easily allows me to resize Mars 150% so I reckon it would work really well on Mars at 7.5x with the 5x Powermate.



Thanks Mike, the IR makes a substantial difference to the colour image.
I have had a couple of RGB attempts since late Oct but they really have looked a bit crook and not even close to revealing the detail that I am getting in IR.

I noted that in one of Anthony's recent Mars threads that he mentioned capturing some G & B to add to his IR for a colour image so this was my first such attempt at this.

The high res detail from the IR doesn't get to badly swamped by the G & B channels and the result is a whole lot better than the couple of RGB's that I have previously attempted.

[Paul Haese]

Trevor I have four barlows two I only use for Mars and the Sun. Lots of tools for different jobs.

[Quark]

Point well taken Paul, there certainly is a lot more involved in planetary imaging than most would realize. So much to learn.

Whenever I think I am making gains I visit the websites of our leading exponents of the craft for a reality check.

[kinetic]

Trevor,

Your method would probably work with polar projection
as well. The same way that you did those brilliant Jupiter
projections / anims.

I think your resolution would easily allow it.
Only problem is I suppose working out the true polar
axis from an image? :shrug:
I'm not sure how easy it would be doing the same for
Mars. Does the projection program take this tilt into it's
calculations?

Here is a fantastic result from George T from Greece
as an example:
http://www.lunar-captures.com//mars2009_files/091120_Mars_Tar.jpg

Steve

[Quark]

Good idea Steve,

Hadn't really thought about polar project for Mars.
I used WinJUPOS for my Jupiter polar projections and polar animations, might have a play and see if it could be applied to Mars.

Better yet, I have recently started contributing data to the B.A.A Mars section so I will contact the director Dr Richard McKim and see what resources he has available regarding polar projections.

Thanks
Regards
Trevor