Getting ready for Mars opposition/close approach

CCD vs Film? Lots of time vs no patience? Alright, this is your place to discuss all the astrophotography what's and what's not. You can discuss about techniques, accessories, cameras, whatever....just make sure you also post some nice photos here too!
Post Reply
geyes30
Posts: 132
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2006 10:07 pm

Getting ready for Mars opposition/close approach

Post by geyes30 »

In anticipation of the close approach of Mars in a few weeks' time, I took the opportunity to image the planet this morning. Unfortunately, it was super cloudy, and so I had little time to focus properly between the channels. Furthermore, thin whispy clouds continually obscured the planet during imaging, further degrading the image. Nevertheless, it was nice to be able to catch it from my balcony. Looking forward to more opportunities in the coming month.

Image
Last edited by geyes30 on Sat Oct 10, 2020 8:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
hhzhang
Posts: 730
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 4:11 pm
Favourite scope: 115mm APO

Re: Getting ready for Mars opposition/close approach

Post by hhzhang »

Not bad a catch! What's your gear in use here?

The angular size of Mars was 19.1" yesterday, and will grow to 22.6" around Oct-13. That is a ~10% increase in size.

We are not going to see Mars this close until 2035 (then 2050)!

From https://spider.seds.org/spider/Mars/marsopps.html


Mars Opposition Catalog
Opposition Closest Approach
Date UT L_hel RA Dec m_max Date UT dist AU Mkm diam


2003 Aug 28 17:59 335:01 22:38 -15:49 -2.88 2003 Aug 27 09:52 0.37272 55.76 25.11

2005 Nov 7 07:59 45:01 02:51 +15:54 -2.33 2005 Oct 30 03:26 0.46406 69.42 20.19
2007 Dec 24 19:47 92:46 06:12 +26:46 -1.64 2007 Dec 18 23:47 0.58935 88.17 15.88
2010 Jan 29 19:37 129:39 08:54 +22:09 -1.28 2010 Jan 27 19:02 0.66398 99.33 14.10
2012 Mar 3 20:04 163:29 11:07 +10:17 -1.23 2012 Mar 5 17:01 0.67368 100.78 13.89
2014 Apr 8 20:57 198:44 13:14 -05:08 -1.48 2014 Apr 14 12:54 0.61756 92.39 15.16
2016 May 22 11:11 241:34 15:58 -21:39 -2.06 2016 May 30 21:36 0.50321 75.28 18.60
2018 Jul 27 05:07 303:53 20:33 -25:30 -2.78 2018 Jul 31 07:51 0.38496 57.59 24.31
2020 Oct 13 23:20 20:12 01:22 +05:26 -2.62 2020 Oct 6 14:19 0.41492 62.07 22.56
2022 Dec 8 05:36 75:47 04:59 +25:00 -1.87 2022 Dec 1 02:18 0.54447 81.45 17.19
2025 Jan 16 02:32 115:52 07:56 +25:07 -1.38 2025 Jan 12 13:38 0.64228 96.08 14.57
2027 Feb 19 15:45 150:23 10:18 +15:23 -1.21 2027 Feb 20 00:14 0.67792 101.42 13.81
2029 Mar 25 07:43 184:32 12:23 +01:04 -1.34 2029 Mar 29 12.56 0.64722 96.82 14.46
2031 May 4 11:57 223:25 14:46 -15:29 -1.80 2031 May 12 03:50 0.55336 82.78 16.91
2033 Jun 27 01:24 275:39 18:30 -27:50 -2.51 2033 Jul 5 11:19 0.42302 63.28 22.13
2035 Sep 15 19:33 352:19 23:43 -08:01 -2.84 2035 Sep 11 14:21 0.38041 56.91 24.61
2037 Nov 19 09:04 56:51 03:37 +20:16 -2.16 2037 Nov 11 08:00 0.49358 73.84 18.96
2040 Jan 2 15:21 101:16 06:50 +26:41 -1.53 2039 Dec 28 14:47 0.61092 91.39 15.32
2042 Feb 6 11:59 137:14 09:25 +19:50 -1.24 2042 Feb 5 07:57 0.67174 100.49 13.93
2044 Mar 11 12:44 170:59 11:33 +06:56 -1.26 2044 Mar 14 06:07 0.66708 99.79 14.03
2046 Apr 17 18:01 207:15 13:44 -09:00 -1.58 2046 Apr 24 04:33 0.59704 89.32 15.68
2048 Jun 3 14:45 253:01 16:45 -24:45 -2.22 2048 Jun 12 01:41 0.47366 70.86 19.76
2050 Aug 14 07:46 321:02 21:43 -20:44 -2.87 2050 Aug 15 12:55 0.37405 55.96 25.02
2052 Oct 28 06:28 34:49 02:12 +11:58 -2.46 2052 Oct 20 05:12 0.44091 65.96 21.23
2054 Dec 17 22:09 85:25 05:40 +26:20 -1.73 2054 Dec 11 11:44 0.57015 85.29 16.42
2057 Jan 24 01:26 123:44 08:28 +23:27 -1.32 2057 Jan 21 09:03 0.65552 98.06 14.28
2059 Feb 27 05:25 157:48 10:44 +12:20 -1.22 2059 Feb 28 10:32 0.67681 101.25 13.83
geyes30
Posts: 132
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2006 10:07 pm

Re: Getting ready for Mars opposition/close approach

Post by geyes30 »

Gear used: Celestron Evolution 6 w Baader 2X Barlow, ASI178MM + ZWO RGB filters.
Software used: Imaged with Firecapture (< 500 frames each channel), stacked in Registax followed by compiling in WinJupos.
geyes30
Posts: 132
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2006 10:07 pm

Re: Getting ready for Mars opposition/close approach

Post by geyes30 »

Image

September 30th update
Post Reply