Quote:
Originally Posted by ngcles
I remember seeing Mars like that too and I think it was at the 1999 Mudgee Star Party (Sutherland Astronomical Society Inc only) that would almost certainly have co-incided with the ASNSW observing weekend at Wiruna in April 1999. The first night we were there (which according to my observing log would have been Wed 14 April 1999) the seeing was simply stunning. It was up there with the best few seeing nights I've ever seen plus it was only 10 days pre-opposition for Mars giving a 15.4 arc-second diameter disc. The 15th was also very, very good if not as good at the 14th. This was the same year Steve Lee discovered (and I am told Lachlan missed) his comet at the Mudgee Star Party.
In my old 10" I was looking at Mars at x290, x363 and even x580 and it was without a quiver, even at x580 for sometimes minutes at a time. It was the best Mars viewing I can remember period!
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Hi Les,
Thanks for the follow-up.
Memory of what year it was has faded but around April 1999 probably sounds
about right. It was probably the Fri night. Andrew Murrell was there at the time with Hector and he may
recollect. Speaking of Steve Lee, on the night in question, a friend had just bought a 12"
ball scope from Steve and it was one of the first times it had been brought up to
Wiruna. Boy did that 12" deliver some bright, crisp views of Mars that night and the
20 inches of Hector was the icing on the cake! We just kept throwing more and more
power at the thing and it just kept delivering! Anyway, it was certainly one of those
rare nights of seeing I still talk about to this day, so great to hear you were at
Mudgee at the time!
Best regards
Gary