[Friends_of_SSASTROS] Mars...

[Matt Schricker]

I plan on setting up this weekend and catching some views. Thank you for
sharing Mike!

On Wed, Nov 30, 2022 at 11:41 AM Mike McCabe <cartech2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> ...will be as big as the full moon in the sky tomorrow night!...OK, not
> really, but it's been a common hoax since the internet came around and
> those who fall for it rank right up there with the folks who think that
> special celestial events should only be scheduled for weekends, so they can
> see it too, right?
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> But what WILL happen tomorrow is that Mars will make its closest approach
> to Earth for this apparition, meaning that it will appear at its largest
> and brightest to us for many years to come. The month of December will be
> the single best timeframe to observe Mars telescopically for the
> foreseeable future. Mars oppositions are not all created equal, and this
> one falls right about up the middle between best (Mars comes very close)
> and worst (Mars stays far away).
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> *[image: Inline image]*
> *Mars oppositions don't start to improve again until the year 2031.
> Between now and then the planet will only appear smaller and dimmer at
> subsequent oppositions.*
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> Mars is notoriously difficult to observe well. It's bright but
> frustratingly small in the eyepiece, and if the seeing is anything less
> than average or better it will just be a fuzzy orange blob. Patience is
> key, as is returning frequently to see what the sky holds for seeing
> conditions. Return often and you will be rewarded. You might see surface
> features, clouds, polar hoods and polar ice caps. One benefit of this
> year's opposition is that the planet culminates at 73° above the horizon as
> it crosses the meridian. At that height you've got a much better chance of
> having good seeing conditions than you do when the planet it riding lower
> in the sky. Still, it's likely that you'll have to go back again and again
> to make the best of it.
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> The last Mars opposition in 2018 was a pretty good one and I enjoyed many
> splendid observations of the red rock during that time. One of the things I
> also did then was to create a log form upon which I could record my
> observations. I found it to work pretty well and I'm looking forward to
> using it again throughout this December. The image below shows it and I'm
> sharing it with you it as a PDF attached to this email.
>
> [image: Inline image]
> *This log sheet might come in handy for you when you're observing Mars. If
> you decide to use it and are wondering about the entries along the bottom
> row, you can find all that information for the time of your observation by
> using the Sky and Telescope Mars Profiler tool on their website.*
>
> And finally, I leave you today with this; Mars has intrigued and enamored
> everyone one from peasants to kings and everything in between for eons. It
> has inspired everything from the wildest speculation to the some of the
> most advanced technological achievements that man can muster, and has been
> at the center of many a poetic prose. Take the example below, which was
> penned by Everett H. Redfield, one of the original founders of the
> Springfield Telescope Makers;
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> *THE TELESCOPE MAKERS DREAM*
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> *I dreamed that the Springfield Telescope Club Took a trip to the planet
> Mars, And established ourselves on a mountain top From which to view the
> stars. That we carried a monster telescope- A 'scope of most wonderful
> power, And watched the stars and worlds roll by For many countless hours.
> And the sights we saw in realms beyond The vision of this worlds eyes, Were
> a ceaseless wonder and endless source Of pleasure and surprise. When the
> people of Mars inquired who we were, And where was the land of our birth,
> We turned that telescope around 'Till it pointed at the earth. And told
> them to look and see for themselves The land from whence we came, And if
> all went well we hoped to return To our native land again. And when they
> had looked to their heart's content, And examined the whole world o'er,
> They said such a wonderful telescope They had never seen before. They saw
> great cities and towns on the land, And ships that sail on the sea, And
> questioned us closely of all that they saw And wondered that such things
> could be. Then a wise old Professor said "Tell me I pray, What are those
> black bugs that I see That run 'round so lively and in such great droves,
> They're a new kind of insect to me." "Please tell me their names and habits
> of life, For we have no such insects on Mars". Mr. Fullam spoke up and
> said, "My dear sir, Those insects are Henry Ford cars". We dwelt with those
> people a year and a day And found them a people of worth, But then we were
> homesick and thought it was time, That we should return to the earth. We
> bade them farewell and they wished us bon voyage, And left them with
> sincere regret, We felt well repaid with discoveries made, And their
> kindness we'll never forget. Of our journey to earth I have nothing to tell
> - I felt a hard bump on my head, I suddenly woke 'twas the end of my dream,
> I found I had rolled out of bed. EVERETT H. REDFIELD, Springfield Telescope
> Makers*
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