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Mars and the moon

Started by Frisky , Aug 14 2020 04:20 AM

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#1 Frisky

Viking 1

topic starter

Posts: 670
Joined: 08 Feb 2019
Loc: Austin, Minnesota

Posted 14 August 2020 - 04:20 AM

I went out tonight, just after 2AM and saw quite a view! The crescent moon was low in the NE sky, while Mars was fairly high in the SE sky. I decided to take my scope back outside and view them. The moon was terrific, at 250X, and I sketched one region of interest. I then swung over to Mars, and it's about 88% illuminated. I saw some extremely faint detail. It should get better, as we head toward fall, if we don't get a dust storm like in 2018. That time, I got a detailed look at it for 1 night. Went out the next night and it was a featureless, peach ball. Anyway, if you didn't get a view of Mars and the moon tonight, you missed a good one!

Joe

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#2 ascii

Mercury-Atlas

Posts: 2,631
Joined: 04 Jun 2016
Loc: Orlando, FL, USA Approximately 28.5ºN,81.5ºW

Posted 14 August 2020 - 06:38 AM

I went out to get the newspaper from the driveway in the morning twilight. Venus, the Moon, Capella, and Mars made a nice addition to my morning routine. It was a bit late to get a scope out. I would also have had to spend time preheating it with a hair dryer to avoid instant heavy condensation. The high dew points we have in Orlando this time of year are a beast. I can't even see out my windows for all of the condensation.