Mars 9/12

I went to a local observatory last night, there was a big crowd lined up to
look through the big scope at Mars.

Mars was huge through the scope, though still fairly fuzzy on surface
detail, though you could certainly make out the dark swath above the Hellas
Basin well.

I had to wonder though, how on Earth did that guy in the 1800's spot the
moons of Mars? I can't imagine his telescope was that much better than
this one.... Of course, maybe if I had stared all night at it, I would
have seen them....

"algomeysa" wrote in message
ink.net...
I went to a local observatory last night, there was a big crowd lined up
to
look through the big scope at Mars.

Mars was huge through the scope, though still fairly fuzzy on surface
detail, though you could certainly make out the dark swath above the
Hellas
Basin well.

I had to wonder though, how on Earth did that guy in the 1800's spot the
moons of Mars? I can't imagine his telescope was that much better than
this one.... Of course, maybe if I had stared all night at it, I would
have seen them....


Well, since I don't how large a telescope you were using the other night, it
would be hard to tell if it was any better than Hall's. But one thing he did
was to place Mars just outside the field of view so that the glare from the
planet didn't interfere with his search for the tiny, dim moons.

R

"algomeysa" wrote in message
ink.net...
I went to a local observatory last night, there was a big crowd lined up
to
look through the big scope at Mars.

Mars was huge through the scope, though still fairly fuzzy on surface
detail, though you could certainly make out the dark swath above the
Hellas
Basin well.

I had to wonder though, how on Earth did that guy in the 1800's spot the
moons of Mars? I can't imagine his telescope was that much better than
this one.... Of course, maybe if I had stared all night at it, I would
have seen them....


Well, since I don't how large a telescope you were using the other night, it
would be hard to tell if it was any better than Hall's. But one thing he did
was to place Mars just outside the field of view so that the glare from the
planet didn't interfere with his search for the tiny, dim moons.

R

He used his rods, and didn't have the light polution we have today.

The retina contains two types of photoreceptors, rods and cones. The rods
are more numerous, some 120 million, and are more sensitive to light than
the cones. Since the rods predominate in the peripheral vision, that
peripheral vision is more light sensitive, enabling you to see dimmer
objects in your peripheral vision. If you see a dim star in your peripheral
vision, it may disappear when you look at it directly.


D-
"algomeysa" wrote in message
ink.net...
I went to a local observatory last night, there was a big crowd lined up
to
look through the big scope at Mars.

Mars was huge through the scope, though still fairly fuzzy on surface
detail, though you could certainly make out the dark swath above the
Hellas
Basin well.

I had to wonder though, how on Earth did that guy in the 1800's spot the
moons of Mars? I can't imagine his telescope was that much better than
this one.... Of course, maybe if I had stared all night at it, I would
have seen them....

He used his rods, and didn't have the light polution we have today.

The retina contains two types of photoreceptors, rods and cones. The rods
are more numerous, some 120 million, and are more sensitive to light than
the cones. Since the rods predominate in the peripheral vision, that
peripheral vision is more light sensitive, enabling you to see dimmer
objects in your peripheral vision. If you see a dim star in your peripheral
vision, it may disappear when you look at it directly.


D-
"algomeysa" wrote in message
ink.net...
I went to a local observatory last night, there was a big crowd lined up
to
look through the big scope at Mars.

Mars was huge through the scope, though still fairly fuzzy on surface
detail, though you could certainly make out the dark swath above the
Hellas
Basin well.

I had to wonder though, how on Earth did that guy in the 1800's spot the
moons of Mars? I can't imagine his telescope was that much better than
this one.... Of course, maybe if I had stared all night at it, I would
have seen them....