As usual the weather forecast was a study in contradiction. Maybe the weather agencies just say the opposite from each other in order to play the odds at 50/50. After an uninspiring soggy night Friday I really did not feel like going out to repeat a damp cold night but being weak willed kept watching the clouds start to slowly creep in as the light went out. Oh to heck with it, stay in.

I did get a look at Mars last night at various altitudes. Last look was around 2230. Not great but not bad, Syrtis major and the Hellas basin was quite easy. Hellas can be confused for a polar cap quite easily depending on the tilt of the planet. Right now the polar caps are either missing or greatly reduced. Hellas is a bright round area that reflects more light than the surrounding regions. A look at a Mars atlas shows Hellas as a filled in, rather smooth region, that has fewer crater density than the surrounding area. That would imply a younger terrain than say Syrtis Major which is heavily cratered. It is actually one of the largest impact basins in the solar system hence the circular shape. 30,000 feet in depth and 1400 miles in diameter it is hardly surprising to be so visible on such a distant planet. Accessible in even a three inch telescope. This was one of the last great craters to form on Mars and possibly the entire solar system. It is well placed in the southern hemisphere right now.

On Nov 27, 2022, at 9:01 AM, Mark Ost <jimcoble2000@...> wrote:



As usual the weather forecast was a study in contradiction. Maybe the weather agencies just say the opposite from each other in order to play the odds at 50/50. After an uninspiring soggy night Friday I really did not feel like going out to repeat a damp cold night but being weak willed kept watching the clouds start to slowly creep in as the light went out. Oh to heck with it, stay in.

I did get a look at Mars last night at various altitudes. Last look was around 2230. Not great but not bad, Syrtis major and the Hellas basin was quite easy. Hellas can be confused for a polar cap quite easily depending on the tilt of the planet. Right now the polar caps are either missing or greatly reduced. Hellas is a bright round area that reflects more light than the surrounding regions. A look at a Mars atlas shows Hellas as a filled in, rather smooth region, that has fewer crater density than the surrounding area. That would imply a younger terrain than say Syrtis Major which is heavily cratered. It is actually one of the largest impact basins in the solar system hence the circular shape. 30,000 feet in depth and 1400 miles in diameter it is hardly surprising to be so visible on such a distant planet. Accessible in even a three inch telescope. This was one of the last great craters to form on Mars and possibly the entire solar system. It is well placed in the southern hemisphere right now.

The high clouds arrived early here, just after dark.  A look at the weather map showed thicker clouds approaching, and yep, it did get worse, although for awhile the brightest stuff burned through.  Strike three was the forecast of rain starting during the night.  Next good shot looks like maybe Thursday night 12/1.

Roy

On Nov 27, 2022, at 9:01 AM, Mark Ost <jimcoble2000@...> wrote:



As usual the weather forecast was a study in contradiction. Maybe the weather agencies just say the opposite from each other in order to play the odds at 50/50. After an uninspiring soggy night Friday I really did not feel like going out to repeat a damp cold night but being weak willed kept watching the clouds start to slowly creep in as the light went out. Oh to heck with it, stay in.

I did get a look at Mars last night at various altitudes. Last look was around 2230. Not great but not bad, Syrtis major and the Hellas basin was quite easy. Hellas can be confused for a polar cap quite easily depending on the tilt of the planet. Right now the polar caps are either missing or greatly reduced. Hellas is a bright round area that reflects more light than the surrounding regions. A look at a Mars atlas shows Hellas as a filled in, rather smooth region, that has fewer crater density than the surrounding area. That would imply a younger terrain than say Syrtis Major which is heavily cratered. It is actually one of the largest impact basins in the solar system hence the circular shape. 30,000 feet in depth and 1400 miles in diameter it is hardly surprising to be so visible on such a distant planet. Accessible in even a three inch telescope. This was one of the last great craters to form on Mars and possibly the entire solar system. It is well placed in the southern hemisphere right now.

The high clouds arrived early here, just after dark.  A look at the weather map showed thicker clouds approaching, and yep, it did get worse, although for awhile the brightest stuff burned through.  Strike three was the forecast of rain starting during the night.  Next good shot looks like maybe Thursday night 12/1.

Roy

On Nov 27, 2022, at 9:01 AM, Mark Ost <jimcoble2000@...> wrote:



As usual the weather forecast was a study in contradiction. Maybe the weather agencies just say the opposite from each other in order to play the odds at 50/50. After an uninspiring soggy night Friday I really did not feel like going out to repeat a damp cold night but being weak willed kept watching the clouds start to slowly creep in as the light went out. Oh to heck with it, stay in.

I did get a look at Mars last night at various altitudes. Last look was around 2230. Not great but not bad, Syrtis major and the Hellas basin was quite easy. Hellas can be confused for a polar cap quite easily depending on the tilt of the planet. Right now the polar caps are either missing or greatly reduced. Hellas is a bright round area that reflects more light than the surrounding regions. A look at a Mars atlas shows Hellas as a filled in, rather smooth region, that has fewer crater density than the surrounding area. That would imply a younger terrain than say Syrtis Major which is heavily cratered. It is actually one of the largest impact basins in the solar system hence the circular shape. 30,000 feet in depth and 1400 miles in diameter it is hardly surprising to be so visible on such a distant planet. Accessible in even a three inch telescope. This was one of the last great craters to form on Mars and possibly the entire solar system. It is well placed in the southern hemisphere right now.

On Nov 27, 2022, at 9:01 AM, Mark Ost <jimcoble2000@...> wrote: