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Mars's disk.

Discussion in 'Observing Celestial Objects' started by kevan hubbard, Jul 14, 2018.

Mars's disk.

Started by kevan hubbard on Jul 14, 2018 at 5:30 AM

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  1. kevan hubbard

    kevan hubbard Well-Known Member

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    kevan hubbard, Jul 14, 2018
    #1
    Now so far the only two objects I've successfully resolved into disks,just,with the naked eye apart from the moon and Sun are Venus and Jupiter.you can just tell those two are disks and not stars.I'm wondering with mars being so close will it be possible for the naked eye to resolve it into a disk or at least none stellar?certainly it's brighter than Jupiter.
     
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  2. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    Nebula, Jul 16, 2018
    #2
    I can't resolve mars has a disk with naked eye right now. I am not very confident it will be possible in a few days either. :(
     
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  3. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Dave In Vermont, Jul 16, 2018
    #3
    If you do, even on the date of the Opposition, don't bother writing it down here - CALL RIPLEY'S!

    Mars is tiny. About the size of our Moon. And MUCH further away. I couldn't visually discern a disc in 2003 - when it was even closer to us - and was noting everything I could about it.

    [The remainder of this post was deleted by a site moderator to remove unrelated content].
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 19, 2018
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  4. kevan hubbard

    kevan hubbard Well-Known Member

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    kevan hubbard, Jul 17, 2018
    #4
    I believe that you can!2 nights back I was out in the fields near me and pretty sure a disk is just visible by squinting you can certainly tell it's not a star and it's brighter than Jupiter.and what of trumps new space force,a separate branch of the military,a space force without any space ships or spacemen!
     
  5. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Dave In Vermont, Jul 17, 2018
    #5
    I didn't factor in the the chance that water-droplets in the air could (COULD) have been refracted and magnified through said 'droplets' and Mars thereby been magnified into a disc.

    Fascinating.


    bpsD3Im_1_.gif ​
     
  6. kevan hubbard

    kevan hubbard Well-Known Member

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    kevan hubbard, Jul 17, 2018
    #6
    "Most fascinating" if I recall. If your water droplets theory is correct then Mars, etc,should appear slightly smaller in arid areas say the Sahara desert?
     
  7. aeajr

    aeajr Well-Known Member

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    aeajr, Jul 18, 2018
    #7
    Mars is extremely bright right now so, with a little knowledge you would know it was not a star as there is no star that approaches its brilliance. However resolving it ot a disk, naked eye? Not with my astigmatism.

    As to its size, it is MUCH larger than our moon, almost twice the diameter of our moon and 10 times the mass. But, yes it is about 200 times as far away even at opposition.
    http://www.digipac.ca/chemical/mtom/contents/chapter1/marsfacts.htm

    I can discern it is not a star in my 10X binoculars but I don't think I can see a disk at that mag.
     
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  8. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Dave In Vermont, Jul 18, 2018
    #8
    I took a look the other night, using my 15 X 70mm (63mm actually) binoculars. No disk with my eyes - but it certainly had "I'm NOT a star!" written on it! :p

    It sure is brilliant. The only star even approaching it would be Sirius, But Mars doesn't 'twinkle' like Sirius - which does like a multi-colored sparkler. Thanks for the clarification, Ed. And the link!

    Here all - have a copy of the Mars-article in Universe Today:

    Enter the Red Planet - Our Guide to Mars Opposition 2018.pdf

    Enjoy!
     

    Attached Files:

  9. kevan hubbard

    kevan hubbard Well-Known Member

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    kevan hubbard, Jul 18, 2018
    #9
    I looked at it through my 10x42 monocular and a clear disk.I wonder what power you need to see Phobos and deamos I'm guessing a fair bit as they where discovered quite far into the telescopic era.mind Mars has brought its moons close to earth with it so they're going to need less power than normal.I'm going to guess a 10" reflector or 5" refractor minimum?
     
  10. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Dave In Vermont, Jul 18, 2018
    #10
    I didn't look for them in my 5" F/9.3 refractor. But something tells something a bit larger would be needed.




    Phobos Occults Deimos.gif
    Phobos (foreground) and Deimos
    Occultation
    ​

    Deimos is not long for the world (Mars) it appears. A relatively recent fissure is running through it, and it's break-up seems quite likely. That should invite people like us to be keeping watchful eye's skyward. It should be quite a show when it comes raining down on Mars itself. That should top our little Chelyabinsk-Fireball by quite aways! No doubt altering the Martian topography.

    I hope someone can find out the answer to 'how big a telescope?' is called for to use for observing these two, little Moon's. And print the info here when we do, please!

    Martian-Tunguska Ho!



    Phobos & Deimos - pre-fissure.jpg




    ​
    Okay! Stellarium charts the current positions of Phobos & Deimos in relation to Mars itself. That should help to separate them from appearing as just a couple of background stars!






    stellarium-1352.png





    ​
     
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2018
  11. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Jul 18, 2018
    #11
    You're gonna need a bigger Barlow ...

     
  12. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Dave In Vermont, Jul 19, 2018
    #12
    Mars was truly blazing away last Midnight! But we also had a great deal of water in the atmosphere from some passing T-Storms a bit to my North and South. It was sort of fog - but in the upper-atmosphere. So while Mars was very bright through this, I noted that it was easy to discern as a very steady orange-red light - and with this 'fog' and all, I swear I could just make out a disc on the very edge of my vision!

    I don't think it was a case of 'wishful-thinking.' This as I stood stock-still and started using my 'averted-vision' abilities which, due to my having 3-D vision by a different process then the majority of of the population. So I was using my visual-tricks. And we had this odd weather conditions going on. And this brought about the perfect conditions for observing a very bright object.

    So what I've devised for tonight - I'm going to throw a variable-polarizing into the mix to help dim-down the Red Planet. Then I'll see about spotting the disc if such is possible.

    Wish me luck!
     
  13. Agena AstroProducts

    Agena AstroProducts Vendor

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    Agena AstroProducts, Jul 19, 2018
    #13
    We would like to remind our members that this is an astronomy forum! Accordingly, a number of unrelated posts above have been deleted.

    Thank you.
     
  14. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Jul 19, 2018
    #14
    Yeah, sorry about that. Must be Mars fever or something lol.
     
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  15. kevan hubbard

    kevan hubbard Well-Known Member

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    kevan hubbard, Jul 19, 2018
    #15
    I think a big telescope plus Mars glare would be a factor too.Phobos and deamos are tiny.strangely the Irish polymath,Jonathan swift, seems to have known about them before their discovery! I have read the following explanation to explain how swift knew about Mars's moons,guess work!Venus 0,earth 1,Jupiter 4 thus he guessed Mars 2.yet this numerical speculation misses mercury and Saturn and possibly Uranus if it had been discovered in swifts times.more likely that he'd read about a sighting prior to their official confirmation .in his times telescopes will have been becoming rather more advanced and such sightings may well have been possible on a good night but not good enough for back up confirmation.
     
  16. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Dave In Vermont, Jul 19, 2018
    #16
    Okay - here's the 'science' I'm seeing here:

    Mars is becoming stunningly brilliant in the sky. Putting the star Sirius to shame and pale in comparison. Check!

    Venus is the title-holder for brightest planet in our neighborhood. Check!

    Our resident genius, Reggie, used a Polarizing (or for Mak - polarising filter) Filter to reduce the glare of Venus. A move that resulted in his finding an inexpensive way to view changes within the Venusian-atmosphere, and landed him a write-up in Sky & Telescope Magazine! Score! Check!

    Mars is currently nearly as bright as Venus - so Gentlemen & Ladies: Get out your Polarizing-Filter(s) and let's go nab the Martian Disc!

    My Filter-Case is by my feet as I write this. Dust-Storm or no - I'm pretty sure we can have some fun with Mars during the Opposition!
     
  17. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Jul 19, 2018
    #17
    I'm thinking positive about the opposition. I wondered earlier about a polariser as well. It's worth a try.
     
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  18. kevan hubbard

    kevan hubbard Well-Known Member

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    kevan hubbard, Jul 19, 2018
    #18
    Sirius,its putting Jupiter to shame! Can't be far off Venus? One night I was really lucky I saw,mercury, Venus, earth!,Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in the one night. I was almost tempted to wait and try for Uranus and Neptune too,but sleep took hold.
     
  19. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mak the Night, Jul 19, 2018
    #19
    I've just been looking at the First Quarter Moon with my 90mm Mak. It's virtually at transit, with an orange filter it looks a bit like Mars.

    Screenshot 2018-07-19 at 19.10.02.png

    Cheese mode:

    Screenshot 2018-07-19 at 19.07.30.png
     
  20. kevan hubbard

    kevan hubbard Well-Known Member

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    kevan hubbard, Jul 19, 2018
    #20
    Thin clouds here so but I may have a go at Luna later.I'm on a trip and only packing my 8x25 monocular still a lot better than the naked eye.
     
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