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Getting Ready for Mars

S

SirUlli

Senior member
Story by

Edna DeVore
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Director of Education and Public Outreach

...Over the next three weeks, Mars will appear to grow in size and brightness as Earth catches up with the red planet. On October 30, Mars will appear largest: 20.2 seconds of arc in diameter, more than 3 times larger than just a few months ago in April. On November 7, we actually pass by Mars. In astronomical terms, Mars is in ?opposition? on the 7th: it is geometrically opposite the Sun as seen from the Earth. It will rise as the Sun sets. As we pass Mars by, it will gradually appear to shrink in size. If weather blocks your view one night, try another; it will be easily visible for weeks...

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Getting Ready for Mars

Sir Ulli
 
Thanks SirUlli 🙂

The clouds finally cleared this evening for the first time in about a week & a half. Venus was very bright in the Western sky.

I've yet to see a realy good view of Mars in my scope(8"). Maybe nows the time, as i believe it'll be higher in the sky than when i've looked before.. About the only distiction i could make out before was i could see one of the polar icecaps.
 
If you can see an ice cap, your good. Mars is always a pain in the butt to see anything on. My 8" shows about the same. Although I have not looked for a week or two, I hope to break out the scope this weekend. Hopefully the rise in the diameter will reveal some more features. 🙂
 
I've got an 8" Meade dob here - what lenses are you guys using?

(cloudy/raining here in NW WA state)
 
Do you mean model of eyepieces of brands?
Click to expand...

Well, an 8 inch scope is pretty much the same from one to the next (more expensive equals better mirror of course) but the lens closest to your eye can make a big difference.
I've got two lenses here, I have to grab them & see what they are...
...
...
...
Meade Super Plossl 9.7mm Multi Coated 1.25"
&
Meade Super Plossl 25mm Multi Coated 1.25"

The 25 mm is great for wide angle viewing - the lense (glass) is over 1" diameter & gives very clear views. The 9.7mm give me 125x which is great for lunar scapes & planets.

The scope itself could use a good collimation. I have been meaning to buy a collimating kit & do it but so much other stuff going on...

 
25 and 10mm Plossl's
7.5mm Epic ED-2 (Orion)
35mm 2" modified-Plossl
2x Barlow

And yeah, if you have never collimated your scope, I could not recommend it enough. Especially when trying to see an already hard taget like Mars. I like the laser collimation units... a lot easier than Cheshire eyepieces.
 
maybe I'll go on over to fleabay & see about a laser collimator - I'm into easy...

I got this scope & the two eyepieces from someone who lives closeby - at a price I could not pass up- but it does need collimating & maybe a few screws tightened here & there 😉
 
The only thing I would watch out for on ebay is the alignment of the laser. If the alignment tool is not in alignment, then you cannot expect to align with it... sometimes this can happen in shipping or by mishandling. At least when you buy it from the source, you can return it or get in re-aligned. If you do go with ebay, there are simple test to see if it is in alignment (ie, spinning on something solid, and determining if the dot on the wall stays centered, or moves in a circle). 🙂
 
Yes, I've seen the ones you can get that are basically a cheap pointer laser in a pvc tube.

I suppose that as long as it's aligned (passes the spinning test) then it would work... for that matter I suppose I could just make one of those, then if it didn't work out I could buy a nice "LaserMate? Deluxe Laser Collimator" for $53 + shipping...
 
hmmm ...

I've got 3 telescopes ... access to a 36" ....

a full complement of Televue eyepieces ... (I probably have 10K in that case alone) ... a couple AstroPhysics goodies as well ...

the drool cup is out .... 😀

I have some remarkable photos of Mars showing the icecaps as well as Syrtis Major ... would you all like to see them?

As far as colimmation ... the tried and true techniques are my favorites ... they don't depend on technology as much and work on basic tenets of physics ...
 
My drool cup is already full from dreaming about getting a 40" OGS RC (imagine a full meter class). I am still saving, although I think it will take a while to get $765,000.00 😉

And photos are always nice 🙂
 
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