Posts Made By: Darren Crooks

Greetings All,

I have seen some beautiful photos and drawings of Mars in this forum and CCD Imaging. I have a question: All of these photos show a distict brightening on Mar's western limb (on the right of the photo/drawing). What exactly is causing this? Is it sunlight reflected off of ice crystals in the air or something? Martian "dew"? Does anyone know the source of this light?

Thanks, and keep up the great work! I'm really amazed at the quality of the observations here.

Clear nights ... dark sites,
Darren

Observing Report 07/18/03
Equipment: Heep - Slicer and Dicer of globulars (AKA 'umble 4.5" DS Newtonian on EQ mount, 900mm, f/8), 16x50 bino's
Eyepeices: 20mm, 10mm, 6.7mm Meade Plossls
Location: Newmarket, Ont. (approx. 44n, 79w)
Time: 0130 - 0500 UT
=======================================================

So many observations, so little time ...

Newmarket was again blessed with crystal-clear skies on the night of Friday, July 18, from my light-bathed suburban back yard. My targets were (as usual), M3 and M5, my two dreaded nemesises ... er, nemeses ... or is it nemesi. Whatever. The seeing on this night happened to be five stars, even from my back yard. And I realized, after consulting my handy Peterson's, that the two marker stars I had been using to find M5 were the wrong ones. That might go a long way towards explaining my inability to find it. After hopping from the right stars, I found it within five minutes.

M5 appeared to have a very large, bright core, and very little in the way of structure, but with averted vision with the 10mm (90x), some of the outer stars were resolved. I bumped up the magnification with the 6.7mm, and after letting my eyes relax, I was able to patiently tease out well over two dozen stars almost to the core. The core itself began to show ragged edges, as of several clumps of stars almost resolved.

Observing note: detail on the cusp of visibility can be coaxed out if you periodically move your eyes from one spot to another throughout the field of view. It almost seems as though your vision gets "refreshed" in this manner.

Having seen significant detail in M5 (for a most 'umble 4.5" Newt), Heep was anxious to see if other globs would prove as generous. Lined up M3, and lo and behold, found it in the field of view inside of five minutes! Once again, using averted vision, I was able to resolve half a dozen stars or so near the edge of the cluster. This cluster looked more like a glob than M5, with a small, bright, clearly defined core surrounded by a larger but fainter outer region. Although more difficult to resolve than M5, it has a more pleasing, symmetrical shape.

Well, having subdued my personal nemes - enemies so quickly, I was at a loss for what to pursue for the rest of the evening. I attempted to locate M11, but the well-defined Milky Way cloud that I had used to find it previously was invisible from my back yard. I could locate it readily in bino's but not in the scope.

I had no difficulty finding M31 (another first in this scope), which showed a round, bright core and a faint outer region. No structure was visible at all. A dark sky may show more detail. Also, I think I caught a glimpse of M32 as well - but it seemed to be too distant from its parent. Even with the 20mm (45x), it was well over halfway across the field of view.

Flush with success from cracking two tough globulars, I decided to call it a night. On to M22 and M4!

Clear nights ... dark sites,
Darren

Observing Report 07/19/03
Equipment: Heep ('umble 4.5" DS Newtonian on EQ mount, 900mm, f/8), 16x50 bino's
Eyepeices: 20mm, 10mm, 6.7mm Meade Plossls
Location: Port Stanley, Ont. (approx. 44n, 79w)
Time: 0130 - 0700 UT
=======================================================


Yes, I know ... I'm late again, but I just haven't had a chance to sit down and type this out.

Was down at my friend's farm again for another observing session. He is the president of our local astronomy club, and the farm is located south of London, Ont. on Lake Erie, across from Cleveland, Ohio. The skies there are not to be missed, perhaps the darkest I've seen. I drove down with my wife and daughter on the afternoon of Saturday, July 19, and arrived around 7:00 local (2300 UT).

After dinner and a walk, we returned to find a van parked in my friend's lane. It turned out to be a friend of his from the London RASC. He was tinkering with something that looked like a wood Dob mount. In fact it was a custom binoviewer base. Actually, I think binoviewer is the wrong term. It looked like a dob, but there were two OTA's and two EP's. It was actually a huge pair of 6" binoculars, made out of birch. I think he said the focal length was f11 or something, but I don't really remember. He had set it up once before, but couldn't get it collimated properly. So we watched in anticipation as he deciphered the three pages of instructions for setting up the scope/binoculars/whatever. We then waited for the sky to darken so he could do a star test.

This part of an evening's observing is one of my favourites. In the evening, watching the sky darken, and the stars appear one by one. First Arcturus. Then Vega. Then Altair. Then Spica. Then Antares and Deneb. The handle of the Dipper. Eventually, the sky was filled with dozens of tiny points of light.

After a successful star test (on Mizar, showing separation wide enough to drive a truck through), we got out a few beer and toasted a successful first light. I had the opportunity to view several objects through this wonderful instrument, and the views were stunning.

(cont'd in next post)

Observing Report 07/19/03 (cont'd)
Equipment: Heep ('umble 4.5" DS Newtonian on EQ mount, 900mm, f/8), 16x50 bino's
Eyepeices: 20mm, 10mm, 6.7mm Meade Plossls
Location: Port Stanley, Ont. (approx. 44n, 79w)
Time: 0130 - 0700 UT
=======================================================

Well, on with the show. My wife and daughter were simply amazed by the naked eye view of the stars and Milky Way. I pointed out its structure, including the central core and dust lanes, to them. Both my wife and daughter got a beautiful view of M11 ay 90x through Heep, which I had no difficulty at all finding. Later on I lined up M17 (the Swan) and its delicate shape impressed them, as did Albireo and M13 in my friend's 8" SCT, showing perhaps 100 stars resolved to the core.

I couldn't seem to locate M8 for some reason (which is a stunning object under dark skies) but I consoled myself with an excellent view of M4 through Heep. It was very well resolved, showing a loose core. A line of bright stars bissecting the core was completely resolved.

Views of the Moon after it rose, through the huge bino's was amazing. One almost felt as though one were suspended in space a few hundred yards above it. But the most remarkable sight through this instrument had to be the double cluster. I got a sensation of depth, almost as though I were immersed in the clusters. Astonishing.

Mars through Heep and my buddy's SCT was a fantastic sight. I got both polar caps, the southern cap much brighter than the northern one. I even bumped up the magnification to 180x using my friend's Barlow, and the image stayed together quite well, showing faint dark brown surface markings on a salmon-coloured background. Also got one of it's moons! (At least according to my buddy). I had thought you needed a 15" or better to see them.

But the highlight of the night for me had to be M22. This was the first time I had seen it, and it was huge, well resolved, and breathtaking. The outer edges were resolved into dozens of stars, and the whole thing was much bigger and brighter than M13. It was stunning, blowing every other glob I've seen right out of the water.

We called it a night at about 3:15 AM local, which allowed me the luxury of four hours' sleep before getting up and driving 2.5 hours back to Toronto so my wife could get to work on time.

Spent most of the following day blissfully unconscious.

Clear nights ... dark sites,
Darren

Mine was my back yard.

And my front yard.

LOL

Everybody wondering how they were going to keep their food from spoiling ... I thought Christmas had come early.

Everybody raise a glass to power grid overloads!

Clear nights ... dark sites,
Darren

This isn't a formal observing report. I only saw two objects from my light-strewn back yard, M13 and Mars. My equipment is Heep ('umble 4.5" f/8, dept. store Newtonian on rickety EQ1 mount, fl. 900mm), 20mm 10mm and 6.7mm plossls.

M13 didn't look like much. With the 20mm (45X) it looked like a fuzzy bright ball, but perhaps a dozen edge stars were visible with averted vision through the 10mm (90X). I quickly abandoned plans for deep-sky viewing, as the conditions were (to say the least) less than optimal.

The real target was Mars. It was well up in the south by midnight local time (0400 UT) and I was glued to the EP for the next hour. Unlike other evenings, the atmospheric turbulence was minimal, the image was rock steady, and even with the 6.7mm EP (135X) the image did not break down. The SPC was very prominent, and was bordered by a thin dark gray edge. It appears to be getting smaller on successive evenings - or is that just my imagination? Other dark gray surface features were visible as well, mostly in the south, against a beautiful salmon-pink background. These included a long thick streak that crossed the surface of the planet from left to right; immediately underneath it was a round oval patch, near the eastern (leftmost) limb. I wanted to do a sketch, but have no scanner, so I couldn't post it.

But what an amazing sight. The disc was huge in the EP, easily twice the size of a naked-eye full moon, and the image was bright and steady. I look forward to even better viewing as we catch up to and pass the red planet.

Clear nights ... dark sites,
Darren

Every news or current affairs show I've seen lately has done a segment on Mars. I went into my local scope shop to get a Mars filter the other day (stupid idea - I should have done it months ago) and not only did he not have any filters, he didn't have any EP's, scopes, bino's, mounts, or anything else! His inventory had been cleaned out by Mars watchers!

I hope this is the start of a trend, and we continue to attract newcomers to this hobby.

Clear nights ... dark sites,
Darren

Observing Report 08/22/03
Equipment: Heep ('umble 4.5" DS Newtonian on EQ mount, 900mm, f/8), 16x50 bino's
Eyepeices: 20mm, 10mm, 6.7mm Meade Plossls
Location: Newmarket, Ont. (approx. 44n, 79w)
Time: 0300 - 0430 UT
=======================================================

I'm not sure if this should be posted here or in Solar System Observing, so here goes:

How two nights of similar temperature and clarity can lead two two wholly different outcomes amazes me. Friday Aug. 22, the sky over Newmarket was clear and dark, limiting magnitude about 4.0. So I decided to put Heep out to cool and view Mars, which had been exceptionally sharp and bright the last time I had viewed it. Thought I might take a glance at a few of my favourite DSO's while I was in the neighbourhood, so to speak.

So: Put Heep out in front yard at twilight. Head out an hour later. Neighbour's porch light blazing away. Curse, haul Heep into back yard. Neighbour's 3000 watt montion sensor light comes on as soon as I blink. Curse some more, decide to take Heep to local park. Park car in farthest parking lot, get out and scout around. Streetlights blazing everywhere, decide on another spot. Drive to other end of park, where streetlights are fewer. Drag Heep from car to middle of football field. Set up scope, polar align, yadda yadda. Get Mars into finderscope. View looks promising with 20mm (45x) so I decide to drop in 6.7mm (135x). View sucks. Seeing obviously poor, no detail visible other than SPC. Wind gusts buffet miserable mount, cause image to scat, bop, and jitterbug all over field of view. Struggle vainly for another twenty minutes. Give up, pack Heep away, and curse all the way to bed. Curse in sleep all night.

Anyone want to trade it their shack in the back of beyond for a lovely suburban home?

Clear nights ... dark (I wish) sites,
Darren

Observing Report 08/23/03
Equipment: Heep ('umble 4.5" DS Newtonian on EQ mount, 900mm, f/8), 16x50 bino's
Eyepeices: 20mm, 10mm, 6.7mm Meade Plossls
Location: Newmarket, Ont. (approx. 44n, 79w)
Time: 0300 - 0430 UT
=======================================================

As bad as Friday's futile attempt was, Saturday's observing session was in every respect its opposite. Set Heep on front lawn around 8:00 PM local (2400 UT). Go back inside to watch movie rental, "Head of State". For those who missed Siskel and Roeper's review, don't bother. Movie over, wife and daughter wasting the night sleeping, I venture outside. No neighbour's porch light. Limiting magnitude at leat 4.0, several stars in Little Dipper visible. Most streetlights hidden by trees on front lawn. And Mars high in the sky directly in front of me. It's 0300 UT.

Seeing was much improved over the previous evening. Mars showed a wealth of detail with 6.7mm. Very dark ring around SPC, but thinner than previous viewing (Aug. 18). Solis Lacus to the west, large grey band visible to the south running the breadth of the planet. Two darker elongated rectangular-shaped features, separated by a thin line, were visible (barely) east of Solis Lacus, separated from it by a wide swath of washed out peach colour. The planet was brighter than I have ever seen it; so much so that I bet I could use a Moon filter and still improve the image. The best views, in fact, occured when a thin, high cloud passed between myself and Mars, and the dark grey features were darker and more defined.

To be continued ...

Observing Report 08/27/03
Equipment: Heep ('umble 4.5" DS Newtonian on EQ mount, 900mm, f/8), 16x50 bino's
Eyepeices: 20mm, 10mm, 6.7mm Meade Plossls
Location: Newmarket, Ont. (approx. 44n, 79w)
Time: 0200 - 0400 UT
=======================================================

I can never get over how two seemingly identical nights can be so different at the eyepeice. Tuesday night was like trying to see through the bottom of a well. But last night, Martian features just jumped right out at me ... and for the first time, I found features I could identify. I saw a feature known to me only as "the long bent finger with a booger on the end of it" (perhaps due to having recently been inserted into the Sinus Cavity), which I actually remembered from a diagram in a children's book on the solar system - the very book that inspired my ambition to one day see the planets through a telescope about 35 years ago. Using my Mars Previewer software, I was able to later identify the feature as Sinus Sabaeus and Sinus Meridiani.

Another first: I was able to spot features on Mars (other than the SPC) that were not the usual dull grey. I noticed a bright, white, round region just northeast of the SPC, and a smaller white spot northwest of it. These turned out to be Hellas and Argyre I, respectively. Mare Erythraeum was quite prominent, and a small, thin brown region running west to north almost from the equator to the pole was also present. Mars Previewer couldn't identify it. It could have been Mare Acidialium, but wasn't the right shape or position. Maybe a dust storm? Beats me.

That has to be the best view I've had of Mars.

Clear nights ... dark sites,
Darren