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Re: Mars better than ever!

Ted Forte
 

I got my best look at Mars last night between midnight and 1:30am (that’s MST remember – we don’t do daylight savings time here in Arizona).  All this past week I’ve been getting out around 4 am, but Mars is already getting pretty low by then.

 

So, last night I got my first transit view since September 23rd.  The added altitude really makes a difference. I agree with Kent that the unfiltered view is the most pleasing, but I employed the Mars A filter to bring out surface detail, a blue filter to look for cloud features, and a neutral density moon filter to just cut the glare down.  A Deep Sky filter also works.

 

I don’t really have a cache of planet eyepieces – I use a 7mm Ortho on Mars but also use Naglers and Radians (in the 18 -inch). Seeing is seldom (if ever) good enough to obsess over how many glass elements I put in the light path. LOL

 

Ted

BBAA West

 

From: BackBayAstro@groups.io <BackBayAstro@groups.io> On Behalf Of Ian Stewart
Sent: Tuesday, October 6, 2020 6:51 AM
To: BackBayAstro@groups.io
Subject: Re: [BackBayAstro] Mars better than ever!

 

Hey Kent thanks for sharing your experience with filters. Yes last night was splendid. Mars looked great even without filters - Saturn and Jupiter were not too shabby either.

Cheers

Ian

On 10/6/2020 8:37 AM, Kent Blackwell wrote:

Once again Mars looked incredible in my 5" APO refractor on this night before its closest approach, 22 arc-seconds in angular size, or about half way between the size of Saturn's disc and Jupiter's.

 

I tired numerous filters so here are the results:

 

1. No filter, nice because Mars is so natural looking.

 

2. Vernonscope Wratten 25 red by far shows the best surface details but Mars in dark red is very unnatural.

 

3. Vernonscope Wratten 21 orange stacked with Mars A, wonderful details, almost as good as #25 but more natural and pleasing looking.

 

4. Mars A filter, natural, albeit a bit orange.

 

5. Vernonscope Wratten 85 salmon almost as good as the Mars A filter
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