Observation Notes:
Wow, this was a great view. The dust storm south of Mare Erythraeum was still there, and not much larger than the previous night. The southern hemisphere features were nicely visible. The North Polar Hood still showed that notch. I gave a lot of scrutiny to the color of the dust storm cloud, and detected the very slightest hint of yellow in the portion that hovered near the central meridian.
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East and West noted in the sketch are Martian E/W, not celestial E/W.
After a couple hours, I made a second observation. The portion of the dust storm that sat over Solis Lacus was crisp and bright. It appeared to bleed into Bosporos Gemmatus. There still appeared to be a slight yellow tinge to the portion that was nearest the central meridian. It was truly a beautiful sight.
Move mouse over sketch to view labels.
East and West noted in the sketch are Martian E/W, not celestial E/W.
Info
| Subject | Mars – Central Meridian: 35° – 65° |
| Classification | Planet |
| Position* | Taurus [RA: 03:11:56 / Dec: +16:30:14] |
| Size* | 20.00″ (Equatorial diameter) |
| Brightness* | -2.15 |
| Date/Time | October 23, 2005 – 12:30 AM MST through 3:00 AM MST (October 23, 2005 – 7:30 – 10:00 UT) |
| Observing Loc. | Flagstaff, AZ – Home |
| Instrument | Orion SVP 6LT Reflector (150 mm dia./1200 mm F/L) |
| Eyepieces/Mag. | 10 mm Sirius Plössl+ 2X Barlow (240X) #21A Orange Filter; #80A Blue Filter |
| Conditions | Clear, calm, 39° F |
| Seeing | Ant. II-III |
| Transparency | Unrecorded |
| *Sources | Orion’s The Sky Astronomy Software British Astronomical Society Mars Maps |