Kris.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/16/04
Loc: Belgium
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Mars sketch 08/11/09
#3435772 - 11/08/09 03:01 AM
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I'm just in from my first Mars observation in two months, it's been a terrible run of bad weather over here! it's a mildly cold frosty morning, observing conditions a like most 
the planet is already very high in our morning sky (54°) and has increased almost 4" in size since my last view! a very obvious difference.
seeing was far from great for the sketch but it didn't matter much anyway because the dull side of mars was pointing to me with the region of Mare Cimmerium & Mare Sirenum. another difference in appearance with the previous opposition is the tilt of the planet, which is dipped more to the south now, and pushes those features high up on the disk leaving a nearly blank and featureless disk behind. on this side anyway.
very obvious is the large North polar hood, and a lot of limb brightening on nearly the whole of the following limb. Mars doesn't seem very dusty though by the Themis website. a few darker & lighter splotches were visible on the disk, but no dark markings as the Mare in the South. i could actually detect Mare Sirenum & Cimmerium only after some time because i didn't expect them to be so high. it was also nice to see a clear difference in brightness between the polar hood (or is it the cap  ) and the morning haze using the green filter, the ice really was white, the haze a little less. i hadn't really seen that before. other details are on the sketch, and nevermind the poorly rendered shadowy (left) side of Mars, i need some more practising.
thanks for looking and best of luck with your Mars hunting.
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dweller25
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/30/07
Loc: Lancashire, UK
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: Kris.]
#3435864 - 11/08/09 06:12 AM
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Very nice drawing sir.
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JayinUT
I'm not Sleepy
Reged: 09/19/08
Loc: Utah
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: Kris.]
#3435865 - 11/08/09 06:13 AM
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Kris,
Wonderful sketch and capture of Mars. The detail you've captured is amazing. Hopefully the weather cooperates and you have more time to observe.
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Jef De Wit
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/06/09
Loc: Hove, Belgium
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: JayinUT]
#3435881 - 11/08/09 06:46 AM
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Hi Kris
2 months is a long time... But I'm glad you could see Mars this morning, while I was still in my warm bed  ! No need to go out in the cold, you just check CN in the daytime
Thanks for the sketch.
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Uwe Pilz
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/16/08
Loc: Leipzig, Germany
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: Jef De Wit]
#3435891 - 11/08/09 07:23 AM
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Very much detail for that size! I need to go out in the morning and sketch Mars by myself.
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GW Clark
journeyman
Reged: 10/14/09
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: Uwe Pilz]
#3436059 - 11/08/09 10:07 AM
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Beautiful detail.
Thank you.
GW
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Shannon s
sage
Reged: 06/21/09
Loc: Bartow FL.
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: GW Clark]
#3436287 - 11/08/09 12:23 PM
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Great sketch Kris. Is that pencil or computer enhanced, or both? 
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Kris.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/16/04
Loc: Belgium
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: Shannon s]
#3436460 - 11/08/09 02:10 PM
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Shannon: the sketch is done using color pencils, then it's scanned on to my computer where i mostly play a little with brightness & contrast settings. that's all. i usually like the actual sketch on paper more because the more subtle shades are lost when scanning...
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Shannon s
sage
Reged: 06/21/09
Loc: Bartow FL.
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: Kris.]
#3436566 - 11/08/09 02:57 PM
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Well then excellent job! Keeping it real & raw.
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frank5817
Postmaster
Reged: 06/13/06
Loc: Illinois
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: Shannon s]
#3436705 - 11/08/09 04:31 PM Attachment (42 downloads)
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Kris,
Excellent sketch of Mars.   It always looks very nice in your color renditions. I was out sketching Mars a few hours after you. I sketched in graphite pencil and also was looking at the side of Mars with a lack of dark features. It is getting to be a good telescope target.
With your permission I'll post it below.
Frank 
------
November nights are typically the cloudiest nights of the entire year in the Chicago area. Last evening and early this morning the transparency and seeing were both pretty good despite the high humidity (80%) and temperatures approaching the dew point. Mars has already become a good target for high power examination through telescopes at 8.3" of arc. Mars at 104.6 million miles away is still farther from us than the sun but we are catching up. I observed the planet not too far from the Beehive (M 44) with the central meridian at 220° shining at magnitude 0.6.
The gibbous phase of the planet was clearly evident as was the North Polar Cap (and hood), Utopia, and Maria Cimmerium and Tyrrhenum.
Sketching:
White sketching paper 8" x 10"; 4B, HB, and 2H Graphite pencils; I used my fingers and a blending stump for blending. No adjustment after scanning was needed.
Date 11/8/2009 – Time 9:40-10:50 UT
Telescope: 10 inch f/5.7 Dobsonian and 4mm eyepiece 360x
Temperature: 9°C (49°F)
clear, calm
Transparency 4/5
Seeing: Pickering 8/10
Frank McCabe
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Tommy5
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/28/04
Loc: Chicagoland
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: frank5817]
#3436901 - 11/08/09 06:30 PM
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very nice sketches of Mars at last nice good observing weather at last.
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Kris.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/16/04
Loc: Belgium
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: Tommy5]
#3437919 - 11/09/09 11:50 AM
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great sketch Frank, that's how i saw Mars too (no permission needed offcourse)
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frank5817
Postmaster
Reged: 06/13/06
Loc: Illinois
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Re: Mars sketch 08/11/09
[Re: Kris.]
#3438568 - 11/09/09 04:54 PM
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Tommy and Kris,
Thank you both.
With the disc as small as it is, it remains a struggle to see well but it does climb very high.
Kris- Did you use pastel pencils? The colors are very good.
Frank
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Special Ed
Postmaster
Reged: 05/18/03
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Re: Mars sketch 09 Nov. 09
[Re: frank5817]
#3439207 - 11/09/09 10:27 PM Attachment (58 downloads)
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Kris and Frank,
Very nice sketches of the Red Planet from both of you. Northern spring has begun and the North Polar Hood has started to dissolve, so I believe we are seeing the actual North Polar Cap. With the De (the sub Earth point) at 17.5°, the northern hemisphere of Mars is pointed towards us in a big way now.
The weather here has been poor, too. This is my third observation in two months, but it was worth waiting for the seeing. I'll add my sketch to the others here.
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frank5817
Postmaster
Reged: 06/13/06
Loc: Illinois
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Re: Mars sketch 09 Nov. 09
[Re: Special Ed]
#3439384 - 11/10/09 12:24 AM
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Michael,
Thank you and back at you for your excellent color sketch of Mars. Great report to match your sketch.
What is an IL filter?
Frank
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Special Ed
Postmaster
Reged: 05/18/03
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Re: Mars sketch 09 Nov. 09
[Re: frank5817]
#3439557 - 11/10/09 06:15 AM
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Thank you, Frank. IL means integrated light--short hand for unfiltered.
I've been too covered up at school to even get on the forums, much less make comments--but you've been doing some fine work with your lunar sketches--lots of other nice drawings being posted, too.
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Kris.
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/16/04
Loc: Belgium
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Re: Mars sketch 09 Nov. 09
[Re: Special Ed]
#3440023 - 11/10/09 12:35 PM
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cool! three mars sketches in only two days posted  nice one Michael! i failed to see the dark edge around the NPC but you and Frank did.
Frank: is there a difference between the normal color pencils (like the one you used at school when you were little) and pastel pencils? if so, i use the basic color pencils. for my mars sketch i used only three pencils; yellow and orange for the dessert plains and brown for the dark features. sometimes i use blue when the polar hood looks blueish. i remember a night of excellent seeing 4 years ago, which was the best view i think i've ever got of mars, Syrtis Major really had that mottled appearance like a leopard's skin, with lots of different brown tints and even mossy green! i wasn't sketching in color yet though. never got that good a view again... 
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Jef De Wit
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/06/09
Loc: Hove, Belgium
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Re: Mars sketch 09 Nov. 09
[Re: Kris.]
#3440049 - 11/10/09 12:47 PM
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What does the marking P and F means on your Mars sketches?
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frank5817
Postmaster
Reged: 06/13/06
Loc: Illinois
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Re: Mars sketch 09 Nov. 09
[Re: Jef De Wit]
#3440164 - 11/10/09 01:43 PM
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Jef,
P is short for preceding. F is for following. Some folks just use an arrow to show the direction the planet moves through the field of view.
----
Kris,
Thanks! Yes colored pencils work well in your hand. Pastel pencils are more like chalk.
---
Michael, I never would have guessed IL meant no filter(integrated light). Thanks.
Frank
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Special Ed
Postmaster
Reged: 05/18/03
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Re: Mars sketch 09 Nov. 09
[Re: Kris.]
#3441111 - 11/10/09 10:07 PM
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Quote:
cool! three mars sketches in only two days posted nice one Michael! i failed to see the dark edge around the NPC but you and Frank did.
Yes, I think the Mars apparition is ready to crank up. Let's hope for plenty of clear, steady air. As far as the dark edge on the NPC, it may not have been nearly as prominent at the CM you were observing (~162°) compared to the CM that Frank and I were observing (~230°).
I noticed that you said in your notes that the NPC was bright in green light--I saw the same thing with my W56 (green) filter.
BTW, I forgot to mention that I used color pencils in my sketch--light blue, orange ochre, yellow, and peach, as well as a 2B graphite pencil for the dark albedo features.
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Jef De Wit
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/06/09
Loc: Hove, Belgium
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Re: Mars sketch 09 Nov. 09
[Re: Special Ed]
#3441725 - 11/11/09 10:31 AM
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Frank
Congratulations with your ASOD, although Kris and Michael deverse it as well... And thanks for resolving the P/F-mystery. Is it correct that you can replace P by East and F by West?
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frank5817
Postmaster
Reged: 06/13/06
Loc: Illinois
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Re: Mars sketch 09 Nov. 09
[Re: Jef De Wit]
#3441897 - 11/11/09 11:48 AM
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Jef,
Thank you. Yes, I agree and I think Michael and Kris deserve the most credit on Mars sketching; they both do a much better job than I ever could do.
P is the Eastern side of Mars and F is the Western side of the planet. As you are looking at Mars through the eyepiece with the drive turned off it drifts out of the field of view to the west in our sky. That is the direction it appears to be preceding (P).
The other side is the following side (F). So as you can see the confusion occurs in that the Eastern side of Mars is to the west in our sky here on earth.
This kind of thing drove me crazy as a kid. For example when Venus is visible at night in our western sky it is at eastern elongation. And when visible in the morning eastern sky it is at western elongation. The elongation of course is from the sun position.
Frank
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