Mars, morning of Jan 15th 2010

[Quark]

Hi All,

Returned from holidays yesterday afternoon and imaged Mars this morning. The sky looked very steady with the naked eye but I was disappointed with the live feed from my DMK at the altitude of Mars with my RGB filters. I did make one reasonable RGB and it is posted here. I also imaged at 807nm in IR. My IR filter really shines when the seeing is ordinary and I have posted a very high res IR image.

I struggled a bit with the identification of some of the fine detail as Mars Previewer II and my Mars wall chart don't have some of these features. I have sort assistance from the B.A.A and ALPO Mars sections with this.

Of particular interest is the very well defined inverted "V" shaped feature extending down to the North from the Sinus Margaritifer region.

The collar within the NPC came up nicely in IR, this marks the point where the NPC will recede to this summer. With a slightly heavier application of LR Decon this collar becomes very well defined, however it is still easy to identify in this image.

Thanks for looking.
Regards
Trevor

[supernova1965]

Very nice image I wonder if you could tell me what makes the dark areas it is probably something I should know but don't I saw the names of the dark area's but wondered what caused the different colour is it soil type:thanx:

[multiweb]

Another superb shot Trev. Amazing details :thumbsup:

[Quark]

Thanks Warren,
I believe there are several reasons for the dark and light regions we observe on Mars. No doubt albedo shading plays a major role. Of significance is the major differences in elevation from the southern highlands to the northern lowlands. This difference in elevation ranges from about +8 to -8 km. The highlands seem much rougher than the lowlands which are considerably smoother and exhibit signs of resurfacing, possibly due to volcanic action. These smooth and rough surfaces obviously result in differing degrees of albedo. It is also most interesting that there is no particular latitude that separates the Highlands from the lowlands, although the highlands do cover much of the southern hemisphere.
Hope this helps.




Thanks Marc, love how the IR filter allows me to capture such high res detail when the seeing is less than ideal.

[Lester]

Thanks for the wonderful views Trevor. The weather here just hasn't been conducive to any planetary imaging, so I appreciate the detailed views.

All the best.

[Dennis]

Hello, Trevor

That is a cracker of an image, I last saw Mars (naked eye only) when I was looking for NEO 2010 AL30 and it’s terrific to see so much detail on the planet’s disc. The map with the identification of the features is a great educational bonus – top work!

Cheers

Dennis

[Quark]

Thanks Lester, hope the new year bring more co-operative weather condition for you.



Thanks Dennis for you comment. With the labeling I hope to convey more than just an image of a planet, I reckon they make it less impersonal and provide Mars with the character it deserves.

[Quark]

Hi All,

In my original post I mentioned several well resolved features that I was unable to identify and that I had sort assistance from the B.A.A. Mars section and ALPO Mars section to do so.

Received replies from Roger Venable ( ALPO Mars section co-ordinator of observations) and Richard Mckim ( Director B.A.A. Mars section) regarding identification of some of the finer detail in the images that I have posted with this thread. I thought their comments may be of interest.

A quote from Roger Venable;

"The inverted 'V' to the north of Margaritifer is Oxia Palus, which forms the southern base of the 'V'; Indus, which forms the western (right) arm of the 'V' and is named after a river because it was once considered to be a Martian "canal;" and Oxus I, which forms the eastern (left) arm of the 'V,' and is also named after a river, like other "canals."

A quote from Richard McKim;

"Just to add to Roger the line of dark spots in S. Chryse will be a number of tiny but permanent spots recorded in Ebisawa's map (see that for names, downloadable from the BAA website). Oddly some of these were not seen prior to 1941."

Hope this is of some interest.
Regards
Trevor

[Garyh]

That IR has fantastic detail Trevor! :thumbsup:

[supernova1965]

Thanks that helped heaps also gives me some things to study and I love to learn:D

[Kevnool]

Great images again Trev.
Allways enjoy looking at them.
Did you return from the Marina for your hollies.
Cheers Kev.

[Quark]

Thanks Gary, I think this IR image is about the best I have captured thus far of Mars.



Thanks Warren, if you are interested in more about Mars I would highly recommend checking out your local library for a copy of "The New Solar System" 4th Ed by Beatty, Petersen & Chaikin, our local library has it so it may be in yours. Also "Universe" by Freedman & Kaufmann III, this was one of my Uni texts, mine is the 6th Ed but I think it may be up to a 7th Ed by now.



Thanks Kev, yep, had a bit of an adventure down the Coorong, well to be be more accurate, on the way back. Will tell you all about it next time we go observing.

[Paul Haese]

Nice image Trevor, heaps of detail.