[Friends_of_SSASTROS] Last Call For Mars!

[Mike McCabe]

Greetings Fellow Enthusiasts of the Solar System,
As we near the end of another year and turn the page to start one anew, everyone's favorite red planet is beginning to fade from its recent opposition. Mars will end this month appearing less than 15 seconds of an arc in diameter to us, and by the end of January 2023 it will appear significantly smaller than that at under 11 seconds of an arc. 
Mars is still quite bright, ending December at -1.2 mag, but by the end of January will lose nearly a full magnitude of brightness and shine at just -.3 mag. Still bright, yes, but not nearly as brilliant as the -1.9 mag it shone at back at opposition on the 7th of December.
So things are rapidly changing with the fourth rock from the Sun, which means that if you'd like to catch a glimpse of any features on Mars in the eyepiece, you're better served sooner rather than later.
Even a small (3") telescope will reveal some dark albedo features on the surface and even polar caps and hoods if they are visible. Any evening with reasonable seeing (moon or no moon - doesn't matter) will do the trick. Push the magnification as high as your equipment and the conditions will allow for best results.
This will be my final promotion of telescopic investigation of the God of War. Mars is a difficult planet to observe well and very few of us are enthused by the prospects of it, but for such a challenging target it has inspired more impassioned prose than any other planet in our solar system. Here's another example;

Mars

 Ares, Mars, Cariocecus - which ever he's called,
Millenia have come and gone yet still our eyes are awed
As every other year we see his flame ignite our sky
And yearn to grow great wings so to this neighbor we may fly.

 When opposition nears he bursts into a flamingbeacon,
His polar caps and continents that change with every season,
Closer, brighter, redder as the days and weeks go by
Until his light at midnight dominates all in the sky.

 A fiery red eye staring from the deep blue of thedawn,
An alien and haunting specter as the day comes on,
For even in the daylight if one knows right where to look
The ochre dot of that red planet cannot be mistook.

 You cannot draw your eye away - his eye burns intoyours.
No wonder at his coming man's heart turns to thoughts of wars.
We keep the spear and shield close where they may come to hand
When orbits of the planets bring us near the Martian sand.
 - James T. Sapp
More on Sapp's work can be found here;  
A Hike On Mars and Other Rhymes

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A Hike On Mars and Other Rhymes

James T. Sapp

A double-dozen metered rhymes to entertain and soothe your mind: Some will take you on a trip to make your Earth...
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