frank5817
Postmaster
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 7212
Loc: Illinois
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Kris,
The sketches are excellent. Your colors look good. 
I'm still waiting for a weather break.
Frank 
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My Gallery
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Sol Robbins
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/01/03
Posts: 1985
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Great sketches Kris. The VFS takes a little bit of getting used to. I hope it lives up to your expectations and helps in seeing various albedo features.
BTW, if you used the Powermate withe the VFS in it plus your e.p., then the actual magnification you were using was at 500x in your first sketch. Reason is the VFS adds close to 1 inch of distance between the Powermate and the eyepiece. So, a 2.5x Barlow is now a 3X Barlow.
500x through an 8" reflector is really something!
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S.R.
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Tommy5
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/28/04
Posts: 2523
Loc: Chicagoland
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great sketches Kris,lots of detail,i'm also waiting for a weather break to get a crack at mars.
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Kris.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/16/04
Posts: 1677
Loc: Belgium
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thanks everyone for your nice comments!
Michael: i have no clue..  i saw the gap for a few brief moments when seeing was very well, but i could not detect the split. why do you think it shows something of the crater? i looked at some pictures of this region and most of them have this 'gap' see these pics from dec. 11
Sol: i believe the VFS makes it somewhat easier to see different sorts of details at the same time. whereas a normal glass filter like the #23a orange makes one specific type of detail much more noticeable (than the vfs) but rejects all the other details. with the vfs the nph stood out very well together with the dark areas, i believe that was in one of the pink settings.
but as you say i've got to get more used to it and learn which settings work best for me
yes i did put the vfs in the powermate, cool, if i was viewing at 500x  i noticed the seeing was very good, but i don't think i've ever viewed mars at this power before and had a sharp disk.
it's too bad mars looks much more washed out to me than it did on the previous opposition.
if all goes well i'll be observing again this weekend, weather forecasts look promising, also for seeing 
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Kris
To be old & wise, you first gotta be young & stupid
my website
my CN sketch & picture gallery
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Special Ed
Postmaster
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 6339
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Quote:
Michael: i have no clue.. i saw the gap for a few brief moments when seeing was very well, but i could not detect the split. why do you think it shows something of the crater? i looked at some pictures of this region and most of them have this 'gap'
Quote:
i couldn't see the split in dawes bay (sinus meridiani) but i did see a 'gap' just before sinus meridiani.
Well, we may not be talking about the same "gap". I was referring to the semi-circle that appears cut out of the northern edge of Sabaeus Sinus near the following (right) limb in your drawing. This is part of the classical area known as Edom (see this map).
This is roughly the same location as Crater Schiaperelli--330°- 340° longitude and 0°- 5° S latitude. See this space image and this map.
The curved albedo features--the bare rock and dust--seem to hint at the presence of the crater to my eye.
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Michael Rosolina
Celestron CGE Pro 1400 f/11 SCT
1980 Orange Tube C8 f/10 SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
50mm f/10 Galileoscope
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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Kris.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/16/04
Posts: 1677
Loc: Belgium
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i am referring to the same gap michael  it does also show on many photos too, doesn't it?
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Kris
To be old & wise, you first gotta be young & stupid
my website
my CN sketch & picture gallery
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Special Ed
Postmaster
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 6339
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Sure. Look at this excellent image from Richard Bosman made close to the time of your observation (and close to your location ).
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Michael Rosolina
Celestron CGE Pro 1400 f/11 SCT
1980 Orange Tube C8 f/10 SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
50mm f/10 Galileoscope
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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Kris.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/16/04
Posts: 1677
Loc: Belgium
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here's an observation from 16/12, seeing was quite good as i saw the same side of mars ...again.
i'm not happy anymore with the color sketches, way to difficult for me, my hat's off to people who get the colors right, i just can't seem to achieve it
so i'm back to grey tone sketching, i think this sketch was done using HB and F pencils.
it's not very well rendered but the north polar hood looks divided in two areas of different brightness, at the bottom it's very bright, and above it's less bright. utopia stood out well as a little triangle. hellas was not so bright as on the sketch tho.
i experimented a bit with various filters in combination with the variable filter system from Sirius Optics, and combined with a Baader contrast booster filter this provided me very nice views!
good luck in your own observations!
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Kris
To be old & wise, you first gotta be young & stupid
my website
my CN sketch & picture gallery
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CarlosEH
Postmaster
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 6714
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Kris,
An excellent observation of Mars. You have accurately depicted the Syrtis Major region of Mars. Syrtis Major is the prominent "dark bar" in the center (CM) with Mare Tyrrhenum/Syrtis Minor towards the left and Iapygia Viridis/Hellespontus/Sinus Sabaeus/Meridiani Sinus to the right. A bright cloud is visible over Hellas. Thank you for sharing it with us all.
Carlos
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Special Ed
Postmaster
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 6339
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Kris,
Nice sketch and faithfully rendered. You're getting quite good at drawing this side of Mars. The subtle variations in tone of the albedo features is well done.
The two-tone North Polar Hood that you reported is interesting. It *might* mean that you glimpsed the polar cap shining through the thinning Hood while further south, the duller Hood covered the dark albedo of Utopia. 
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Michael Rosolina
Celestron CGE Pro 1400 f/11 SCT
1980 Orange Tube C8 f/10 SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
50mm f/10 Galileoscope
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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rusirius6278
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/03/06
Posts: 1722
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nice sketch, Chris...your b/w sketches are every bit as good as the ones in color ...keep up the good work...looking forward to your next sketches/observing reports...
Jim
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current scopes
Vixen ED103SWT
Vixen ED102S
C-102AZ/HD
StarMax 127
Jason 60/11.7
UO HD Abbe Orthos - 5mm, 6mm, 7mm, 9mm
Older UO Ortho - 4mm
Celestron 2x Ultima Barlow
and many other scopes i`ve been fortunate enough to check out...
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frank5817
Postmaster
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 7212
Loc: Illinois
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Kris,
Great sketch. This black and white sketch is very nice, but keep at it with your color sketches I like them.
Frank
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My Gallery
Edited by frank5817 (12/19/07 01:21 AM)
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rodelaet
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 3185
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Kris,
Very cool!!
Can you recommend the variable filter? If so, where can I buy one?
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Rony
'The Casual Sky Observer's Guide.'
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
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CarlosEH
Postmaster
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 6714
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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I made a series of Mars observations while visiting a friend (Michael Palermiti of Jupiter, Florida). The observations were made on December 16, 2007 ((01:50-02:45 U.T.). I noted a good amount of detail over the regions between Syrtis Major and Mare Erythraeum. The first observation (left image) was made using an excellent Orion XT10 (10-inch (25-cm) F/4.8 Dobsonian refIector. The middle and right images were made using a 7-inch (18-cm) aperture stop over a 20-inch (52-cm) F/3.5 Newtonian reflector producing an unobstructed F/10 focal ratio (1,778 mm focal length). I welcome any comments on my observations.
Date (U.T.): December 16, 2007
Time (U.T.): 01:50 (left image), 02:15 (middle image), and 02:45 U.T. (right image)
CM: 334.3* (left image), 340.3* (middle image), and 349.7* (right image)
Ls: 003.0* (Early Northern Spring/Southern Autumn)
De: +3.3*, p 0.99, Dia.: 15.9"
Seeing (1-10): 5-6, Antoniadi (I-V): III
Transparency (1-6): 5-6
Notes:
01:50 U.T. (Left image, XT10 Dobsonian reflector, 136x)): Hellas is very bright to extremely bright (8-9/10) over the south-preceding limb. Hellespontus appears as a dark to dusky (3-4/10) diagonal bar across the central meridian (CM). Mare Australe appears dusky to shaded (4-6/10) and mottled. Noachis appears dusky to shaded (4-6/10) and mottled as well. Deucalionis Regio appears bright (7/10). Iapygia Viridis appears dull to bright (5-7/10) over the preceding limb adjacent to a very bright to extremely bright (8-9/10) evening limb haze (ELH). Deltoton Sinus appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) and mottled. Sinus Sabaeus appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) with an irregular northern border. Meridiani Sinus appears dark to shaded (3-6/10) towards the following limb (Edom appears bright (7/10) with possible haze noted over it). Syrtis Major appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) and mottled with an overlying bright to very bright (7-8/10) haze over it's eastern (preceding) half. Aeria, Arabia, Moab, Eden, Cydonia, and Dioscuria appear shaded to bright (6-7/10). Protonilus, Ismenius Lacus, and Deuteronilus appear dark to dusky towards the northern limb. Mare Acidalium (eastern portion) appears dark to dull (3-5/10) towards the north-following limb. Extremely bright (9/10) southern limb haze (SLH), morning limb haze (MLH), northern limb haze (NLH), and evening limb haze (ELH) is visible.
02:15 U.T. (Middle image, 7" F/10 Unobstructed reflector, 142x and 178x): The same descriptions as above with Syrtis Major closer to the preceding limb and Meridiani Sinus and Mare Acidalium more prominent towards the following limb.
02:45 U.T. (Right image, 7"F/10 Unobstructed reflector, 178x): The same description as above with a very prominent Sinus Sabaeus and Meridiani Sinus on the CM. Eastern portions of Margaritifer Sinus (4/10) and Mare Eryhtaraeum (4-6/10) are visible over the following limb.
The best of luck in your own observations of Mars. Graphite (4H to HB) then scanned and color added in Photoshop.
Regards,
Carlos
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Acheron
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 813
Loc: Croatia, Velika Gorica
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Seeing was very good and Mars was beautiful.
I used 250x on 300/1500 GSO dob
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I like sketching...
8" F6 Dob - "Betsy"
12" F5 Dob - "Tristac"
Messier Catalogue - done
Herschel 400 - 189 more to go
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vizualno-promatranje-Svemira/236702789691880?sk...
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Sol Robbins
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/01/03
Posts: 1985
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Excellent sketches from everyone!
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S.R.
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frank5817
Postmaster
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 7212
Loc: Illinois
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Carlos and Vedran,
Excellent color sketches. 
Carlos,
You always include much information on the Martian surface features, clouds and limb haze- Always makes for an enjoyable read. And those sketches are the best.
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Vedran,
I was not expecting too much with this Mars close approach especially after the last 2 ,but with Mars so much higher in the sky as it crosses the meridian we are getting good views as your sketch clearly demonstrates. Very, very nice.
Frank
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My Gallery
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frank5817
Postmaster
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 7212
Loc: Illinois
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I was anticipating a poor observing night. A layer of mid-level thin clouds along with some ice fog made the view of the moon poor in contrast. Both Mars and the moon took turns appearing and disappearing behind clouds. When I caught a look at Mars through the fog I realized the transparency, although poor, was improving the seeing in a good way. I was able to use a 4mm orthoscopic ocular for 360 power on Mars for sketching. I tried several filters but the fog was providing the only filter I needed.
The central meridian was 341° and the planet was nearly 100% illuminated. The angular size of Mars on this night was 15.9” of arc. Mars was shining through the clouds at magnitude -1.6. No stars below 3nd magnitude were visible. The most prominent features visible included: the bright North Polar Hood; and the following dark features: Syrtis Major about to rotate out of view; Iapygia Viridis; Mare Serpentis; Sinus Sabaeus; and Sinus Meridiani. This was my first Mars sketch in two years.
Sketching: White sketching paper 9”x 9”; 4H, B, HB, and 2H Graphite pencils; I used my fingers for blending. No adjustment after scanning was needed.
Date 12/19/2007 - 4:30-5:00 UT
Telescope: 10 inch f/5.7 Dobsonian and 4mm eyepiece 360x
Temperature: -3°C (27°F)
mostly cloudy, fog, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi II
Frank McCabe
Edited by frank5817 (12/19/07 02:43 AM)
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rusirius6278
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/03/06
Posts: 1722
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great sketches and observing reports, Carlos, Vedran, and Frank...good work...
keep em coming...as always, outstanding observing report, Carlos...hope it`s not another 2 yrs. before your next mars sketch, Frank...looking forward to your next reports/sketches...
Jim
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current scopes
Vixen ED103SWT
Vixen ED102S
C-102AZ/HD
StarMax 127
Jason 60/11.7
UO HD Abbe Orthos - 5mm, 6mm, 7mm, 9mm
Older UO Ortho - 4mm
Celestron 2x Ultima Barlow
and many other scopes i`ve been fortunate enough to check out...
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CarlosEH
Postmaster
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 6714
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Frank and Jim,
Thank you for your compliments on my latest set of Mars observations. I agree with you Jim that I hope that these observations represent the beginning of many more to come during the current apparition.
Frank- An excellent observation and report on your first observation of the apparition. I look forward to more of your excellent observations in the future.
Carlos
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