Opposition of Mars 2005 <Back to Solar System menu

All the images are shown to the same relative scale. South is to the top.
* See Olympus Mons! *

Most Recent Images
Mars. 12th November. 21.45 UT. Central meridian at 65. Size 19.3"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
Intes MN61 - 15cm Maksutov-Newtonian. Panasonic camcorder . EQ6 Skyscan mount.
After some cloudy weather this image was a real bonus. The seeing was good and the ability of the camcorder to use shorter exposures than a webcam for a given image brightness have given us an image rich in detail. Solis Lacus features on the right and just left of centre is a star shaped feature which is Juventae Fons. Also seen clearly here, at the bottom of the disk, is the blue crescent of the northern polar cap.

Click on this image for a larger scale.
Mars. 16th October. 01.00 UT. Central meridian at 345. Size 19.4"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
Intes MN61 - 15cm Maksutov-Newtonian. To-U-Pro webcam. EQ6 Skyscan mount.
After a period of poor weather the fact that there was very average seeing and a brisk wind did not detract from the fact that it was nice just to be imaging Mars again! Sinus Sabaeus and Sinus Meridiani are at the centre of this image.
Mars. 5th October. 02.30 UT. Central meridian at 120. Size 18.3"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
Intes MN61 - 15cm Maksutov-Newtonian. To-U-Pro webcam. EQ6 Skyscan mount.
After disappointment with our 25cm Newtonian, then encouraging results from the Orion OMC 14cm we are now back with our Intes-MN61, a 15cm Mak-Newt which was used for our 1st Mars image this year. This image, taken with the webcam, shows Solis Lacus nicely and also the small but distinct polar cap. Seeing was steady. About 1000 frames were stacked in Registax from a total of 1200 frames shot over a 10 minute period. The final finishing was done in Photoshop.

Click on this image for a larger scale.
Previous Images
Mars. 13th July. 03.15 UT. Central meridian at 220. Size 10".
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
Intes MN61 - 15cm Maksutov-Newtonian. Panasonic camcorder . HEQ 5 mount.
At at distance of 0.93au or 139,528,500 km Mars is showing a disk a mere 10" in diameter and displays a very gibbous phase. The seeing was very steady and visual observations were made at powers of up to 600x.
This image was taken on a digital camcorder, the footage was imported into Studio 8 and a 1000 frame .avi file was produced from about 10 minutes of exposure time. It was then stacked in Registax and the final touches done in Photoshop.
Mars. 8th August. 02.15 UT. Central meridian at 301. Size 11.9"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
25cm Newtonian. Panasonic camcorder . HEQ 6 pro. mount.
Again this image was taken with a digital camcorder, the footage was imported into Studio 8 and a 1000 frame .avi file was produced. It was then stacked in Registax and the final touches done in Photoshop.
 
Mars. 13th August. 04.20 UT. Central meridian at 283. Size 12.2"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
25cm Newtonian. To-U-Pro webcam. HEQ 6 pro. mount.
Mars is now 12" in diameter. Taken with a webcam in cloudy conditions much of the 'footage' shot could not be used due to the smearing effect of thin high cloud, this coupled with lower dense cloud and a primary mirror that dewed over made this a challenging session! Only about 550 frames were picked and then stacked in Registax. The final touches were done in Photoshop.

Mars. 15th, 16th +17th August. Size 12.5"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
25cm Newtonian. Panasonic camcorder . HEQ 6 pro. mount.

This series of images were taken with a digital camcorder, the footage was imported into Studio 8 and a .avi file was produced. The file was then stacked in Registax and the final touches done in Photoshop.
Once more we were troubled by the primary mirror dewing over. After using a hairdryer to clear the primary there were severe tube currents which would not go away! These have reduced the resolution.

Mars. 16th August. 03.14 UT. Central meridian at 238. Size 12.5"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
25cm Newtonian. To-U-Pro webcam. HEQ 6 pro. mount.
Taken with a webcam. Dewing and tube currents as above.
Because the tube currents caused a large variation of the size and shape of the disc, best results were achieved with only about 90 'hand picked' frames which were stacked with Registax. The final touches were done in Photoshop.
Mars. 21st August. 03.30 UT. Central meridian at 195. Size 13"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
25cm Newtonian. To-U-Pro webcam. HEQ 6 pro. mount.
Many modifications have now been made to the telescope. A primary mirror heater has been added to stop dewing. An electric focuser and micrometer make focusing much easier and extraction fans have been fitted to try and help with tube currents. Despite all this the image quality does not seem to have improved! However seeing was poor. This is a stack of 1000 frames.
Mars. 28th August. 03.30 UT. Central meridian at 128. Size 13"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
25cm Newtonian. Panasonic camcorder. HEQ 6 pro. mount.
Taken with a digital camcorder, the footage was imported into Studio 8 and a .avi file was produced. The file was then stacked in Registax and the final touches done in Photoshop.
If you look to the right of the blue arrow you will see a small dark spot.
This is Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system. Despite its size this feature is hard to see since there is little contrast between it and the surrounding areas. Visual observers usually see it when there are orographic clouds and it then shows as a white spot. In this image the sun would have been low in the sky at Olympus Mons, so we are seeing shadows which have increased the contrast.

Click on this image for a larger scale.
Mars. 30th August. 03.30 UT. Central meridian at 109. Size 13.9"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
25cm Newtonian. Panasonic camcorder. HEQ 6 pro. mount.
Taken with a digital camcorder, the footage was imported into Studio 8 and a .avi file was produced. The file was then stacked in Registax and the final touches done in Photoshop.
Mars. 2nd September. 03.30 UT. Central meridian at 81. Size 14.2"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
25cm Newtonian. Panasonic camcorder. HEQ 6 pro. mount.
Using the panasonic camcorder for capture, the footage was then imported into Studio 8 and a .avi file was produced. The file was then stacked in Registax and the final touches done in Photoshop. Solis Lacus or 'The eye of Mars is the most prominent feature captured.
Mars. 17th September. 01.30 UT. Central meridian at 271. Size 16"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
25cm Newtonian. Panasonic camcorder. HEQ 6 pro. mount.
Taken with a digital camcorder, the footage was imported into Studio 8 and a .avi file was produced. The file was then stacked in Registax and the final touches done in Photoshop.
Mars. 18th September. 01.30 UT. Central meridian at 271. Size 16"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
25cm Newtonian. Panasonic camcorder. HEQ 6 pro. mount.
Taken with the panasonic digital camcorder, the footage was imported into Studio 8 and a .avi file was produced. The file was then stacked in Registax and the final touches done in Photoshop.
Mars. 18th September. 03.30 UT. Central meridian at 298. Size 16"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
25cm Newtonian. To-U-Pro webcam. HEQ 6 pro. mount.
Taken with the webcam, about 100 frames were hand picked and stacked in Registax. The final finishing was done in Photoshop.
Mars. 28th September. 04.30 UT. Central meridian at 214. Size 17.4"
Imaged from Bradworthy, Devon.
Orion OMC 14cm Maksutov. Panasonic camcorder. HEQ 6 pro. mount.
Becoming frustrated with the level of detail recorded from the 25cm Newtonian, even after an extensive collimation session with a Howie Glatter laser collimator ( and despite wonderful eyepiece views) our OMC has been pressed into service. Even though the telescope is half the size a finer level of detail has been recorded.
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