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Mars Opposition and Moon Conjunction 2022

Discussion in 'Astrophotography and Imaging' started by Orion25, Dec 9, 2022.

Mars Opposition and Moon Conjunction 2022

Started by Orion25 on Dec 9, 2022 at 6:19 AM

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  1. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    Orion25, Dec 9, 2022
    #1
    Here is my best image of the Mars Opposition this cycle, taken with the ASI224mc using the Orion 180mm Mak, captured in Firecapture, processed in Registax 6, post-processed in Photoshop:

    ASTRONOMY - MARS 12-07-22 (OPPOSITION).jpg

    I was able to get Olympus Mons before it rotated out of view, and the polar regions and some cloud appeared to be visible:
    ASTRONOMY - MARS 12-07-22 (OPPOSITION) OLYMPUS MONS.jpg

    Visually, I could only see the dark albedo regions as the planet was almost white from the full illumination of the sun. Its close brush with the moon was exciting also (the moon didn't occult Mars from my latitude, instead coming within 0.5 degrees of the Red Planet):

    ASTRONOMY - MOON - MOON & MARS CONJUNCTION 12-07-22 CAPTION SM.jpg

    I dodged copious cloud all evening and was fortunate to capture some data and get some prime-focus shots during breaks. Soon, however, clouds took over and I called it a night.

    But oh, what a night!


    Clear skies,

    Reggie :D
     
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  2. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Dec 9, 2022
    #2
    Most excellent Reggie. I'm trying to figure out what the large albedo feature (opposite the Mons) is. Unfortunately my Mars software isn't 'bending it Like Beckham'. :eek:
     
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  3. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    Orion25, Dec 9, 2022
    #3
    Thanks, Dave. I believe that dark region includes Terra Cimmeria, Tyrrhena Terra, and Terra Sirenum.
     
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  4. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Dec 9, 2022
    #4
    Oh cheers Reggie. I can't find my Mars owners manual. Celestia is good but weird on Chrome OS. :confused:

    https://celestia.space/
     
  5. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    Ed D, Dec 9, 2022
    #5
    Well done, Reggie.

    Ed
     
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  6. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    Orion25, Dec 9, 2022
    #6
    Thanks, Ed. I had to battle with some pretty thick cloud at times, lol
     
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  7. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Dec 9, 2022
    #7
    Clouds are bad, but so is -5 C ice and snow lol.
     
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  8. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Dec 10, 2022
    #8
    I may have recognised those dark albedo features.

    Screenshot 2022-12-10 at 14.28.36 Large.jpeg

    Orientation is different, but it could be around the Aurorae Planum.

    Screenshot 2022-12-10 at 14.29.21 Large.jpeg

    Poland, I mean Olympus Mons.

    Screenshot 2022-12-10 at 14.29.54 Large.jpeg

    Thaumasia Planum to around the Meridiani Planum.
     

    Attached Files:

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  9. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    Orion25, Dec 10, 2022
    #9
    Thanks for this :)
     
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  10. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Dec 10, 2022
    #10
    You're welcome Reggie. It's such a large albedo feature I felt it had to be on some of my software. All I needed was a globe of Mars that I could manually turn on its axis.

    https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/mars-atlas/id303482394

    If you have an iPhone/Pad it can be run on that, or macOS. Unfortunately it isn't particularly accurate with phase and time. However, it's a pretty decent virtual map.
     
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  11. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    Nebula, Dec 12, 2022
    #11
    Nice pictures @Orion25 looks like you clearly have olympus, I saw it visually during my last observation, a slight pale round circle, less obvious then you picture but still..

    Learning new things on mars.

    Nice shot of the full moon also, you could try with a dark blue filter like 38a one time or violet, it has a interesting contrasting effect. You might like it. Of course it's not natural but the views are different some things are enhanced.

    @Mak the Night Cool software really where you extracted the shots.
     
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  12. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Dec 13, 2022
    #12
    @Mak the Night Cool software really where you extracted the shots.[/QUOTE]

    Yeah, it's pretty good. According to the developer the resolution is better on macOS (desktop) than the iPhone version.
     
  13. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    Orion25, Dec 13, 2022
    #13
    Which telescope were you able to see Olympus Mons, Neb? I struggle with my 180mm to see any evidence of it visually.
     
  14. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Dec 13, 2022
    #14
    Oh, Neb's got a big scope!
     
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  15. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    Ed D, Dec 13, 2022
    #15
    Neb is also a good observer to see such details as he does.

    Ed
     
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  16. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    Nebula, Dec 14, 2022
    #16
    @Orion25 I had an above average atmospheric condition evening when I could see "continental shades" or anything else then just the darker ancient ocean floors. I had no features of the Olympus mount itself but just a pale spot at the right place.

    It's already a miracle.

    I have a sketch of it with the day and time, we could use a Mars software (which I don't have) to validate the presence of the mountains and the Olympus volcano.

    I also had a glimpse in the form of very slight shades of the Tharsis Montes, the 3 mountains. It appeared for 2 seconds only once, no details. Olympus not visible all the time but much more easier then Tharsis.

    It was done with my 12" mirror yes, it's capable of resolving surprising new things. I took the way to use extensively my 8" for 6 years, so the upgrade was directly huge and above my expectations.
     
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  17. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    Nebula, Dec 14, 2022
    #17
    @Ed D I try to improve my visual observation skill as best as I can. Using the manual telescope is not as much of a problem as I thought it would be.

    Still while looking at Mars 2 days ago, with my 8" system it has tracking so the object in centered most of the time. With the manual dobson it's obvious for planetary viewing that the center of the FOV will reveal more details.. so my object is less often in the center..

    I tested it on Jupiter with the equatorial region, I could see slightly more details and shades then off center.

    i found that letting it drift the whole FOV is maybe better then moving the tube all the time to keep the object in the center.

    Just something I noticed not long ago.
     
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  18. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    Ed D, Dec 14, 2022
    #18
    Neb, you're doing what seasoned observers do. By observing the planet while it drifts you can catch those rare moments when our atmosphere stabilizes and you can see the most detail possible. Our brains do add up those good images we see, much like stacking good images in planetary photography, to bring out the detail.
     
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  19. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Dec 15, 2022
    #19
    Yes, that drift method will work. I had to do it last Mars oppo' with my 1o2mm ED doublet and alt-az. I could get some pretty excellent images with a 62 degree DeLite at 240x. Ed's correct, it's the only way to get the detail.
     
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  20. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    Nebula, Dec 18, 2022
    #20
    @Ed D it's not impossible that my brain is adding some things.

    This is my sketch of mars from the other day 2022-12-08 - 20:30 Montreal time. In the picture there is a red dot, that is what I believe to be Olympus.

    [​IMG]
     
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