Mars: The day after opposition

[MarkS]

Mars taken around midnight on 9 April 2014.

DBK 21 on Celestron C11 with 2x Barlow.  1500 frames at 1/30sec stacked in AutoStakkert and post processed in Registax.



Mark

[Marek]

Some nice detail!

[Carole]

Really nice detail Mark. 

Looks even better if you slightly lower the brightness and increase "match colour".

Carole

[MarkS]

Looks even better if you slightly lower the brightness and increase "match colour".

You're right - I forgot to increase the contrast a bit.  Well it was late at night!

At 1am the seeing (or the scope tube currents) had improved a bit so I might be able to produce a better image from that later data.

BTW I tried a slightly new technique - covering the scope tube with a blanket.  This stops the top surface (facing the sky) radiating heat and becoming colder than the bottom surface (facing the ground).  Apparently the temperature difference across the tube can set up internal tube currents.

Mark

[Carole]

BTW I tried a slightly new technique - covering the scope tube with a blanket.  This stops the top surface (facing the sky) radiating heat and becoming colder than the bottom surface (facing the ground).  Apparently the temperature difference across the tube can set up internal tube currents.

That's interesting Mark.

Carole

[MarkS]

That's interesting Mark.

I plan to do some side by side testing with my two C11's to see if it really makes a difference.  The tube currents are visible in a defocused star (or a defocused artificial star). Something to test on one of those clear moonlit nights.

[Mac]

Nice capture,

Now you've just given me an idea with the blanket.
Mac.

[The Thing]

It is a nice capture.

BTW Did you see Arditti's article in Astronomy Now. He was on about dispersion correctors again!

[MarkS]

BTW Did you see Arditti's article in Astronomy Now. He was on about dispersion correctors again!

Yes - I intend to get myself one of those.

[MarkS]

I've boosted the saturation and contrast a bit:


Mark

[Carole]

That's looking better Mark. 

Carole

[MarkS]

That's looking better Mark. 

But not as good as today's APOD:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140411.html