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MARS
Dorridge, UK
20 vii 2003 02:26UT
Meade LX90 f20 Homebuilt Astrocam
Vega AVI Capture + K3CCD Tools + PaintShop Pro 8
Three images compared to confirm that
surface features are not viewing irregularities
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MARS |
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MARS |
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MARS |
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MARS |
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MARS |
Whilst Mars was nearer to Earth during the exceptional opposition in 2003, from where I am in the United Kingdom, the 2005 opposition was far more interesting as it reached a much higher elevation in the sky.
However nights were not clear, warm damp cloudy weather was around for weeks. One evening's work from a well-lit suburban backyard with a webcam gave the following image.
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Single frame from five 1min AVI files taken with
ToUcam webcam through Meade LX200GPS 10" @ f20 |
AVI files stacked with Registax and further processed
in Paint Shop Pro X |
Image I could have taken with a few $million and a space telescope. |
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| 25 x 2005 22:25 UT |
4 xi 2005 22:43 UT |
18
xi 2005 19:22 UT |
| Dorridge,
UK Meade LX200GPS 10" f20 Philips ToUcam webcam Vega Capture AVI 1/100 sec 10 FPS for 1min Registax3 + PaintShop Pro X |
Dorridge,
UK Meade LX200GPS 10" f10 Philips ToUcam webcam Vega Capture AVI 1/100 sec 10 FPS for 1min Registax3 + PaintShop Pro X |
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For help interpreting what you are seeing when you look at Mars try the
online 
Mars Profiler
-->> click image below
Mars
played an important part in the establishment in 1894 of the Lowell Observatory
in Flagstaff, Arizona by the Boston mathematician, Percival Lowell. At the
top of Mars Hill at Flagstaff's rarefied elevation of 7,000 feet, the sky and
quality of astronomical seeing conditions were perfect for night
observing.
His refracting telescope was purchased for $20,000 in 1896. It was built by the skilled telescope maker Alvan Clark in Boston, then hauled to Flagstaff by train. Around the turn of the century, Percival Lowell used this telescope to study Mars. Lowell's hope was to find evidence of life on Mars; he 'saw' hundreds of straight lines on the planet which he proposed were canals moving melt water from the ice caps.
His major contribution to planetary studies came during the last 13 years of his life, when he devoted much of his time and energy to his quest for "Planet X," a theoretical ninth planet.
If you get to Arizona do take time for a visit to Lowell Observatory. Evening
viewing through the historical telescopes provides a great thrill: to look at
Mars through the telescope that Lowell used provides a really magical feeling.
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The search for 'Planet X' continued after Lowell's death in 1916 and led to the discovery, at the Lowell Observatory, of Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. The telescope to the left is that used by Tombaugh with the camera plate holder clearly visible. The image below, taken in the museum at the Lowell Observatoty, shows the 'asteroid blinker' equipment that Tombaugh used in identifying Pluto.
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If you visit the Lowell Observatory do make the 35 mile drive to Meteor Crater where you can see the mile wide crater resulting from an asteroid collision with Earth some 50,000 years ago. See my Asteroid page --> Meteor Crater
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