Mars on 23 Jan 2010
- Canopus Lim
- Posts: 1144
- Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 12:46 pm
- Location: Macpherson
Hi,
I observed at about 11pm last night with my 88mm refractor. The best time to view will be from 12am to 2am when Mars is close or at zenith. The higher the altitude of Mars the better as the atmospheric seeing will be less.
I would suggest to start with 100x first. If necessary than try using higher magnification but less than 200x.
I observed at about 11pm last night with my 88mm refractor. The best time to view will be from 12am to 2am when Mars is close or at zenith. The higher the altitude of Mars the better as the atmospheric seeing will be less.
I would suggest to start with 100x first. If necessary than try using higher magnification but less than 200x.
AstroDuck
Actually only $227 for the internal flight since I am there on another island for a meeting.kirbyong wrote:hey there' how much do you pay to fly there?Tachyon wrote:Nice! Thanks for the description. Will be at Mauna Kea on 31 Jan to observe. Hope the weather is good!
[80% Steve, 20% Alfred] ------- Probability of Clear Skies = (Age of newest equipment in days) / [(Number of observers) * (Total Aperture of all telescopes present in mm)]
- Canopus Lim
- Posts: 1144
- Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 12:46 pm
- Location: Macpherson
How was Mars at Mauna Kea?Tachyon wrote:Actually only $227 for the internal flight since I am there on another island for a meeting.kirbyong wrote:hey there' how much do you pay to fly there?Tachyon wrote:Nice! Thanks for the description. Will be at Mauna Kea on 31 Jan to observe. Hope the weather is good!
AstroDuck
Haha! There is a Celestron C11 scope but the only eyepieces available were 42mm and 30mm! The guy was busy showing Andromeda galaxy, M42, etc. Only when I requested for the moon did he slewed there, but at 30mm (93x)! But the guide was very good at educating the group on the constellations.... he was formerly an astronautical engineer...Canopus Lim wrote:How was Mars at Mauna Kea?
Anyway, I was busy taking pictures of the moonrise by then.

One thing is clear - Mauna Kea rules! The stars do not twinkle at all except near the horizon! It's like being in space... but I guess you experienced it all already!
Perhaps next time we should book the entire van and ask the guide to let us handle the scope! Heh... My next trip up there I will bring a 5mm EP.

And yes, the sunset was breathtaking, literally, as I ran out of air and almost fainted when I tried to run here and there with my tripod to capture the images!
[80% Steve, 20% Alfred] ------- Probability of Clear Skies = (Age of newest equipment in days) / [(Number of observers) * (Total Aperture of all telescopes present in mm)]
- Canopus Lim
- Posts: 1144
- Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 12:46 pm
- Location: Macpherson
Oh yeah the sight of the sunset and the stars, Milkway is unforgettable. Good that I have been to my dream place!
Hmm...wonder why that guy did not bother to look at Mars in such location!
What tour company did you hop onto to go to Mauna Kea? I used Arnott's tour, and stayed at Arnott's lodge. The owner is formally the descendent of Arnott's biscuits. It is actually very cheap accommodation and tour. It was about 60usd for the mini van ride up to Mauna Kea and some observing at Visitor centre. Actually, it was only there that I realised that it is permissible to drive up with 2WD to the Visitor centre.. only the summit is not allowed due to the steep gradient.
Hmm...wonder why that guy did not bother to look at Mars in such location!
What tour company did you hop onto to go to Mauna Kea? I used Arnott's tour, and stayed at Arnott's lodge. The owner is formally the descendent of Arnott's biscuits. It is actually very cheap accommodation and tour. It was about 60usd for the mini van ride up to Mauna Kea and some observing at Visitor centre. Actually, it was only there that I realised that it is permissible to drive up with 2WD to the Visitor centre.. only the summit is not allowed due to the steep gradient.
AstroDuck
- Canopus Lim
- Posts: 1144
- Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 12:46 pm
- Location: Macpherson
I did a couple of observing of Mars these days. I do notice that the North Polar Cap is shrinking in size, thawing and less white. I could observe that the cap was breaking up to, and getting 'freckled'.
Attached are links to two simple sketches I drawn on 27 Jan and on 31 Jan. It was pretty amazing sight of Mars and at 320x it was razor sharp. 400x was no problem and retained the sharpness majority of the time, demonstrating the atmosphere was good.
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/662/27janmarssmall.jpg
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/8307/3 ... ssmall.jpg
Attached are links to two simple sketches I drawn on 27 Jan and on 31 Jan. It was pretty amazing sight of Mars and at 320x it was razor sharp. 400x was no problem and retained the sharpness majority of the time, demonstrating the atmosphere was good.
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/662/27janmarssmall.jpg
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/8307/3 ... ssmall.jpg
AstroDuck
I joined Mauna Kea Summit Adventures. Price is USD170 per person, includes pick up, stop at Visitors' Center, and trip up to the observatories. I'm surprised we can actually get up close next to the scopes! For example, this picture was taken with a 11-16mm lens with me standing in a few meters in front of the scope!Canopus Lim wrote:Oh yeah the sight of the sunset and the stars, Milkway is unforgettable. Good that I have been to my dream place!
Hmm...wonder why that guy did not bother to look at Mars in such location!
What tour company did you hop onto to go to Mauna Kea? I used Arnott's tour, and stayed at Arnott's lodge. The owner is formally the descendent of Arnott's biscuits. It is actually very cheap accommodation and tour. It was about 60usd for the mini van ride up to Mauna Kea and some observing at Visitor centre. Actually, it was only there that I realised that it is permissible to drive up with 2WD to the Visitor centre.. only the summit is not allowed due to the steep gradient.

Here I'm almost leaning on the dome (but I didn't as it was moving)!

[80% Steve, 20% Alfred] ------- Probability of Clear Skies = (Age of newest equipment in days) / [(Number of observers) * (Total Aperture of all telescopes present in mm)]
- wucheeyiun
- Posts: 1758
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- Location: marine parade
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- jiahao1986
- Posts: 474
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 10:59 pm
- Location: Clementi
More photos please andrew!Tachyon wrote:I joined Mauna Kea Summit Adventures. Price is USD170 per person, includes pick up, stop at Visitors' Center, and trip up to the observatories. I'm surprised we can actually get up close next to the scopes! For example, this picture was taken with a 11-16mm lens with me standing in a few meters in front of the scope!Canopus Lim wrote:Oh yeah the sight of the sunset and the stars, Milkway is unforgettable. Good that I have been to my dream place!
Hmm...wonder why that guy did not bother to look at Mars in such location!
What tour company did you hop onto to go to Mauna Kea? I used Arnott's tour, and stayed at Arnott's lodge. The owner is formally the descendent of Arnott's biscuits. It is actually very cheap accommodation and tour. It was about 60usd for the mini van ride up to Mauna Kea and some observing at Visitor centre. Actually, it was only there that I realised that it is permissible to drive up with 2WD to the Visitor centre.. only the summit is not allowed due to the steep gradient.
Here I'm almost leaning on the dome (but I didn't as it was moving)!
Clear skies please...