Sketch of Mars – CM 265° – Unfiltered
DEC 14, 2009 – 11:30 UT
Move mouse over image to view labels. Click to view larger version.
Sketch of Mars – CM 265° – Filter: Wratten #80A
DEC 14, 2009 – 11:30 UT
Observation Notes:
It has been a long time since my last Mars observation (DEC 21, 2005). At 11 arc seconds under soft seeing, details took some time to discern. The north polar cap was large and prominent and Syrtis Major was well placed on the following hemisphere. Hellas was bright, as was Arabia. I didn’t detect any limb haze in the unfiltered view. The Wratten #80A did show some brighter spots as noted in the sketch above. I’m looking forward to some more good views of Mars as it approaches a maximum size of 14 arc seconds later in January.
| Subject | Mars – CM 265° |
| Classification | Planet |
| Position* | Leo [RA: 09 30 53.3 / Dec: +17 53 39] |
| Angular Size* | 11 arcseconds |
| Brightness* | -0.4 |
| Date/Time | DEC 14, 2009, 04:30 AM MST (DEC 14, 2009, 11:30 UT) |
| Observing Loc. | Flagstaff, Arizona, USA – Home |
| Instrument | Orion SkyQuest XT8 Dobsonian (203 mm dia./1200 mm F/L) |
| Eyepieces/Mag. | 4 mm UO Orthoscopic (300X) |
| Conditions | P. Cloudy, cold |
| Seeing | Ant. III |
| Transparency | Mag 5.2 NELM |
| *Sources | Starry Night Pro Plus 5.8.2 British Astronomical Society Mars Maps |
Dear Mr. Perez,
Your published drawing is very nice. In the Czech Republic (Europe) there was also several drawings made – http://cspp.astro.cz/mars/mars2010.htm. We had different central meridian, about 300 – 350.
Vladimír Kocour
Vladimír, thank you. I’m glad you provide the link. I look forward to seeing what you observe in the coming weeks!
Jeremy