Mars 30-Sep-2003

I finally got a chance to get out and observe Mars tonight. I started around 10:30 and was very disappointed with the lack of steadiness, 6/10 at best. Started sketching around 11:15 anyway, but then around 11:30 the air steadied up to maybe 8/10 and I was able to capture some finer details. The disk is "down" to just under 21", but there's still a lot of detail to be seen. Curiously, the SPC was much easier to see than my last observation on September 17. Anyone else notice that?

BTW, the scan came out much more contrasty than what I was seeing through the eyepiece.

Enjoy!
Doug Scobel

Attached Image:

Hi Doug,

Very nice sketch. You're right about the SPC showing itself more clearly. It looked a bit irregular in shape as well. I really liked how the NPH was showing up.

It seems that the darker features are appearing dimmer or less dark. I don't think its because of the shrinking of Mars' apparent size though and I have no real explanation why this would happen.

Sol Robbins

Doug,

An excellent observation of Mars showing the Solis Lacus region very well. The South Polar Cap (SPC) has diminished significantly in size. Mare Acidalium may be obscured by haze (the Northern Polar Hood) in your observation. The other northern albedo feature noted may be Achilles Fons/ Idaeus Fons. Please keep up the excellent work!

Regards,
Carlos