Viewing Mars

[PSALM19.1 (Shaun)]

Hi Luke,
Last night was the best view of Mars I've had since it got big enough to see...pity it's now way past opposition; I'm using an 8" Dob and the Polar Caps are clearly visible as well as darker markings; but Mars will never compare to Jupiter and Saturn; I even find looking at the fuzzy green blob called Uranus more thrilling than Mars....anyway, maybe tonight might be as good as last night - you might see more...perhaps!

[SkyWatch (Dean)]

I concur with Shaun. The last few nights have been pretty good. N polar cap has been small but quite bright- and on the opposite side there has been a white feature, larger than the N polar cap. I assume this is clouds as apparently the S pole isn't tilted our way at present.

Major dark markings such as Sirtis Major have been quite prominent, and it has been easy to follow its rotation by checking over several hours.

I have seen quite a bit even in a 4" scope, at up to 200x. I haven't worried about filters as the features have been easily visible.

Well worth a look before it gets too small again.

Like any viewing, the more you look the more you see: you have to train your eye to pick up variations, and you need to look for a while to get those fleeting times of better seeing. A two-second peek just doesn't work.

- Dean

[astro744]

Originally Posted by SkyWatch

I concur with Shaun. The last few nights have been pretty good. N polar cap has been small but quite bright- and on the opposite side there has been a white feature, larger than the N polar cap. I assume this is clouds as apparently the S pole isn't tilted our way at present.

See http://www.planetary.org/explore/spa...-calendar.html

The summer solstice on Mars in the northern hemisphere was Feb 15, 2014. This means the southern hemisphere is now in winter.

The Martian north polar ice cap has been shrinking the past few months and the south polar ice cap growing. You are likely seeing the south polar cap as it will be large enough to be seen even though the south pole is on the other side of the limb.

[Amaranthus (Barry)]

You can see the small northern pole and the edge of the larger southern one in the attached image, which I took the other night.

[Renato1 (Renato)]

Two nights ago, I finally got nice steady atmosphere in this strange place I've moved to. I looked at Saturn with my 5" MAK at 300X, and the image was superb. I looked at Mars, I had a nice sharp disc, but I couldn't see any features on it, no matter which red or yellow filter I used.

Last night, I took my 4" refractor achromat up to 210X and looked at Saturn, using a Baader High contrast filter for refractors. The image was pretty mushy, not good at all. Then I aimed at Mars, not expecting much, and there was the polar ice cap and lots of markings (the high contrast filter is yellow). I was delighted.

Tonight I tried the 5" MAK again, but at only 220X. This time, using a 23A red filter, I could easily see the polar ice cap, and the markings were there too - though not as contrasty as in my refractor the night before.

Then an hour later I took my 4" refractor out to compare it to the 5" MAK. And I couldn't see a thing on Mars with the refractor. And my MAK had dewed over, and I packed it in.

Things seem to be quite fickle around here, viewing-wise.
Regards,
Renato

[SkyWatch (Dean)]

Thanks for the comments about the south pole region folks and for the image.
I think one of the problems with lack of apparent features is when the Tharsis region (where the big volcanos are) is facing our way: there are very few dark markings in this area and the globe looks fairly bland as a result.
I had a look last night with my 102mm refractor, and then my 70mm: and even the 70mm showed dark features and the two light areas, even from 70x.

[steve000 (Steve)]

I saw it nicely the other night for the first time in years. I used my DSLR with a 3x barlow and the 3x video mode.

I just sped up the shutter speed to reduce the glare and I was able to see details. My focus was off so it was not clear but I did manage to get a reasonable image from it. see attached. I look forward to getting better but im content with this for a first attempt.

[SkyWatch (Dean)]

Well done Steve. That's pretty much what I have been seeing. Both polar caps, and looks like clouds E and W.