A question on viewing Mars

[ianB (Ian)]

Is this a good time for viewing Mars?
And if so what time of the night or early morning would be best for viewing it, I live in SE QLD.

Also if viewing conditions are reasonable what detail can one expect to see with a 6 inch?

Any comments appreciated.

TIA


ian

[OzStarGazer]

I don't think you can see many details with a 6" telescope...
Mars will be in opposition in about a month, so that should be the best time. I usually watch it in the early morning. VERY early.

[Larryp (Laurie)]

A 6" scope should show you detail. I used to have a 70mm Televue Pronto which showed clear images of the polar caps and surface details at 200x

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

I saw the polar cap and black markings and hints of clouds with my 6" last time Mars was around. It's all about the seeing conditions. Good luck!

[Quoll (Bill)]

Ian, check out the “Heavens above” website. If you enter your location it will tell you when the planets rise and set as well as opposition dates. You can also adjust the time and set it for when you hope to be observing and it will give you the altitude of the planet at that particular time – the higher the altitude the better the viewing. It gives the meridian transit time when the planet is at its highest point in the sky and which in theory is usually the best time for viewing. I'm a newbie and use it all the time.


http://www.heavens-above.com/

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

hi Ian .. around 0230 mars should be around 70° high in the north .. for us se qlders ... as others have noted, there's a lot of resources for info .. either using software, phone apps or web based.

matt

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

I , like Laurie have seen details on mars in small scopes , my Takahashi sky90 shows dark markings , polar caps easily but the seeing conditions have to be very good and you need HIGH power , 150x plus and that's in what ever scope you use , mars being red is not sensitive at all to our eyes .

Last Saturday night at a dark sky night here in Perth we were treated to an excellent night and Peters ( StardrifterWA ) 110 WO triplet showed mars as good as it gets at 220x , really nice .

My 127mm Istar performed as good , max'd out at 300x on the night , but as said the seeing was excellent , mars was high and both scopes performed well .

So yes a 6 inch will show plenty . but it takes a great night and lots of patience . .
Brian.

Originally Posted by OzStarGazer

I don't think you can see many details with a 6" telescope...
Mars will be in opposition in about a month, so that should be the best time. I usually watch it in the early morning. VERY early.

[ianB (Ian)]

Thanks all for taking time to reply, much appreciated and that has given me hope.
Thank you for that web site link Bill, I will go there now.

Cheers,

ian

[ianB (Ian)]

Brian at x 220 was your view of mars very crisp or a little fuzzy?
( the higer you go in mag the less bright and clear the image, at least in my experience )

[glend (Glen)]

Just came in from a good viewing session of Mars and Saturn. Good crisp results with Mars dark areas and polar cap visible in my Bresser AR102S with Baader Contrast Booster filter. Best EP tonight was an old Agena 70 degree 10mm EP I use to keep weight down on my goto mount, also ran the Shorty 2x barlow which took me to 120x on my 600mm fl scope. Sky quality is pretty good here away from the cities but there was some moisture around.

[ianB (Ian)]

I guess its the conditions here, high humidity and probally a lot of moisture around.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Ian it was still sharp , Peters 110 triplet has awesome optics and the night was as perfect as it can be .
Simmo's 10 inch dob was pushing 320x and the view was still very sharp and could have gone higher but keeping the planet in the field was do-able but it took a deft hand .
A driven mount is easier .
Brian.


QUOTE=ianB;1063464]Brian at x 220 was your view of mars very crisp or a little fuzzy?
( the higer you go in mag the less bright and clear the image, at least in my experience )[/QUOTE]