Mars - 10 Feb

[brianb]

A beautiful evening yesterday - clear, transparent, calm, seeing good (by local standards), very little dew - the temperature got well below freezing but it was really comfortable. Started imaging fairly early whilst there was still some interference from local heat plumes, using a 2x Powermate with my CPC1100 to get a focal length of 5.6 metres (f/20). Here's the result of this early session:


2010 Feb 10, 2152 UT. CPC1100, 2x Powermate, Astronomik type 2c colour seperation & Planet Pro 742 filters, DMK21. Transparency excellent, seeing fairly good with almost constant but small amplitude boiling motions (about 6/10). Temp -4C, wind calm.

Top row: RGB composite; LRGB composite using red channel as luminance; LRGB composite using IR channel as luminance; simulation (Starry Night Pro).

Bottom row: IR, red, green & blue channel images. Best 500 from 3000 frame AVI stacked for each channel. All channels upscaled 56%.

I was intending to make more series at higher magnification later in the night, but unfortunately a light breeze set in, and as this was from the sea, the temperature variations were large and the seeing became impossibly wobbly. :bawling: Still my best Mars this opposition, though.

So now you know why I wasn't at the meeting last night - it was too good a night to miss, sorry!

[paddyman]

Excellent results ;D I was also out the same evening but the wee se6 doesnt have anywhere near the same power but still got a few images of mars, didnt get any good attempts of Saturn before the cloud came in.

Very nice and look forward to seeing your next images

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[johnmc9929]

Those images are superb guys!

Brian, in the LRGB/IR one looks like the dust is covering all of the Polar Cap.....interesting!