Posts Made By: Dan Petersen

Hi, here's the Red Planet imaged at 10:17 UT this morning, CM= 293, size= 14.4", dist.= 60.44 million miles, seeing was 4-4.5/10. Still waiting for steady air (like 7/10 or higher) so I can capture some real detail. This shot does show the main CO-2 glacier and a couple smaller ones inside Hellas along with individual cloud cells in the "NPH" rotating into view, one of these guys caused the blue (sub wavelength) solar reflection on the 18th of November. I used my 10" SCT at f/27 and my SPC900NC webcam. This composite is the best 120/1050 frames processed in Rv4. Take it easy, Dan

Hi, well not quite but the Moon will pull to within nearly 1 1/2 degrees of the Red Planet around midnight tonight. The contrasting colors between the Moon and Mars will provide a dazzling sight through a pair of Bino's. If it's clear I'll take a picture of this conjunction and post it here tomorrow. Have a good day, Dan

Hi:

Did you see the Moon and Mars this morning? I managed to capture the conjunction at 10:07(UT), using a simple point and shoot digital camera . At that time they were separated by about 2 1/4 degrees. Can you find the Red Planet?

Cheers, Dan

Hi:

Did you see the Moon and Mars in conjunction this morning? I captured it at 10:07(UT), using a simple point and shoot digital camera. Can you find the Red Planet?

Cheers, Dan 8)

Hi, I thought the rings were narrow last March when this image was captured but now when I look back it's quite obvious that they really weren't. It's funny how much perception changes with time! During Saturn's current apparition those magnificent rings are only open half as wide (about 8 degrees), now that's narrow... I think? We should finally be able to observe and image some good detail in its northern hemisphere, I wonder if there are any Saturnian surprises lurking this season? The Ringed Planet is already perfectly positioned for viewing, high up in the southern sky before sunrise. In this image if you look just left of Saturn's south pole you will find the moon "Tethys", its surface is almost entirely composed of water ice, I wonder what that tastes like? Cheers, Dan 8)

Hi, I thought the rings were narrow last March when this image was obtained but now when I look back it's quite obvious that they really weren't. It's funny how much perception changes with time. During Saturn's current apparition those magnificent rings are only open half as wide (about 8 degrees), now that's narrow, I think? We should finally be able to observe and image some good detail in its northern hemisphere, I wonder if there are any Saturnian surprises lurking there this season? The Ringed Planet is already perfectly positioned for viewing, it's on the celestial meridian before sunrise. In this composite you'll find the moon "Tethys" just to the left of Saturn's south pole, its surface is almost entirely composed of water ice and maybe some type of life? This composite was obtained using a Philips (SPC900NC) web cam attached to my Meade 10" SCT working at F/20. Cheers, Dan 8)

Greetings one and all:

Nine years ago when oil was trading at $10 per barrel I had a signal that crude would move to $98 per barrel and that would be followed by an enormous sell off. I believe oil stocks are going to get hammered with a trading low in early March. The price of oil will continue trending lower into the 2008 fall election.

Gold and silver should depart from oils down move and continue much higher, with gold reaching $1002 per ounce and silver peaking at $22 per ounce. This will occur in 2008.

I,m a 25 year options trader. Cheers, Dan

Hi, tonight's the big night. I just stepped out and saw one right away! Who knows, this shower is actually tiny pieces of asteroid "3200 Phaethon", maybe it will turn into a storm instead of just a shower, or wouldn't it be something if a small section of it were to hit the Earth or the Moon, anything is possible. I'm planning to watch. cheers, Dan 8O

Hi, I hope at least a couple of you guys are planning to take some long DSLR exposers of the constellation Gemini this morning just in case the extraordinary were to occur, like a storm instead of a shower. I just stepped outside and immediately saw a Geminid, they're predicting about 100 per hour tonight. Asteroid "3200 Phaethon" is the culprit. cheers, Dan

Greetings fellow stargazers:

Here is Mars imaged through 100 mph winds aloft, in other words- the Jet Stream. :C
I still enjoyed the view observing Mars and the Geminid meteor shower, both put on a good show Friday morning. This shot was taken at 7:25 UT with the Red Planet 30 minutes past the meridian and at an elevation of 71 degrees with a CM of 65 degrees. Several things of interest appear in this image, the edge of the NPC is visible between flanking NPH clouds, the one farthest to the east is producing a bright gleam, the SPH is also just starting to show up at the 7 o'clock position and above it is a blue patch of morning haze. Mars is now 15.8" in size and less than 55 million miles from Earth, it will be the year 2016 before it's this close again. I used my Meade 10" SCT at F/27 along with a Baader UV/IR filter on an SPC900NC web cam. I processed the best 300/1900 in Rv4. I'm still waiting for one of those nights where you can actually use two to three thousand quality frames to build a sharp and smooth Martian masterpiece, time will tell.

cheers, Dan 8)