Mars Dust

Ron Baalke wrote:

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2...l_marsdust.htm

Mars Dust
NASA Science News
July 9, 2003

Using only backyard telescopes, amateur astronomers are enjoying great views
of dust clouds on Mars

July 9, 2003: Something is happening on Mars and it's so big you can see it
through an ordinary backyard telescope.

On July 1st a bright dust cloud spilled out of Hellas Basin, a giant impact
crater on Mars' southern hemisphere. The cloud quickly spread and by the
Fourth of July was 1100 miles wide--about one-fourth the diameter of Mars
itself.

You won't need a telescope. Martian weather is discernable by naked eye. Large
dust storms will change the planet's hue from the characteristic, metallic blood
red to pale beige.

Hi there. You posted:

You won't need a telescope. Martian weather is discernable by naked eye. Large
dust storms will change the planet's hue from the characteristic, metallic blood
red to pale beige.

You will if you want to actually see this particular cloud, although at
its height, it was reported visible in a 4 inch refractor, so it didn't
take much aperture. As for the color, Mars, at least to me, has never
been even close to "blood red" unless it is quite low towards the
horizon. It looks more of a pale pinkish-orange ("pink salmon"). I
consider the Carbon stars like V Aquilae or TX Piscium to appear more
red to the eye than Mars currently is, although again, these stars are
more of a deep reddish-orange than "blood red". The color change of
Mars as a whole during a major planet-wide dust storm is slight, and
does not really get going until a planet-wide dust storm is near its
height. Clear skies to you.
--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 10th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 27-Aug. 1st, 2003, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************

Well put Dave....I concur...and also a reminder that currently S Cephei
really does look 'red' now....well, reddish orange...kind of reminds me
of a glowing cigarette tip at night.
Clear skies,
Tom W.




David Knisely wrote:
Hi there. You posted:


You won't need a telescope. Martian weather is discernable by naked eye. Large
dust storms will change the planet's hue from the characteristic, metallic blood
red to pale beige.


You will if you want to actually see this particular cloud, although at
its height, it was reported visible in a 4 inch refractor, so it didn't
take much aperture. As for the color, Mars, at least to me, has never
been even close to "blood red" unless it is quite low towards the
horizon. It looks more of a pale pinkish-orange ("pink salmon"). I
consider the Carbon stars like V Aquilae or TX Piscium to appear more
red to the eye than Mars currently is, although again, these stars are
more of a deep reddish-orange than "blood red". The color change of
Mars as a whole during a major planet-wide dust storm is slight, and
does not really get going until a planet-wide dust storm is near its
height. Clear skies to you.

In article ,
bwhiting wrote:

Well put Dave....I concur...and also a reminder that currently S Cephei
really does look 'red' now....well, reddish orange...kind of reminds me
of a glowing cigarette tip at night.
Clear skies,
Tom W.





Tom & Dave,

Naked eye, Mars usually appears orange to me, not blood-red as you so
often see the media describe it.

However, I am not willing to dismiss the possibly that global dust
storms may actually be detectable without optical aid, either through
slight color change and/or brightness. I wonder if there's any
empirical evidence.

Starry Skies,
Rich

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 01:17:52 -0700, "Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A." ...reflected:

David Knisely wrote:

Hi there. You posted:

You won't need a telescope. Martian weather is discernable by naked eye. Large
dust storms will change the planet's hue from the characteristic, metallic blood
red to pale beige.

You will if you want to actually see this particular cloud, although at
its height, it was reported visible in a 4 inch refractor, so it didn't
take much aperture. As for the color, Mars, at least to me, has never
been even close to "blood red" unless it is quite low towards the
horizon.

Red, like an xmas tree ball. At a distance of about 35,000,000
miles. Mars has always looked ever-so-slightly metallic to my eyes.

It looks more of a pale pinkish-orange ("pink salmon"). I
consider the Carbon stars like V Aquilae or TX Piscium to appear more
red to the eye than Mars currently is, although again, these stars are
more of a deep reddish-orange than "blood red".

Or Antares.

Recall the name's translation?

The color change of
Mars as a whole during a major planet-wide dust storm is slight, and
does not really get going until a planet-wide dust storm is near its
height. Clear skies to you.

2001's opposition was unusual. I had never seen Mars so washed-out
looking. Figured it was a dust storm. My guess was verified by news
headlines shortly thereafter.

Your own mind is your sharpest viewing instrument.

Fancy you in here casting your dead eye heavenward.

Alan

David Knisely wrote:

Hi there. You posted:

You won't need a telescope. Martian weather is discernable by naked eye. Large
dust storms will change the planet's hue from the characteristic, metallic blood
red to pale beige.

You will if you want to actually see this particular cloud, although at
its height, it was reported visible in a 4 inch refractor, so it didn't
take much aperture. As for the color, Mars, at least to me, has never
been even close to "blood red" unless it is quite low towards the
horizon.

Red, like an xmas tree ball. At a distance of about 35,000,000
miles. Mars has always looked ever-so-slightly metallic to my eyes.

It looks more of a pale pinkish-orange ("pink salmon"). I
consider the Carbon stars like V Aquilae or TX Piscium to appear more
red to the eye than Mars currently is, although again, these stars are
more of a deep reddish-orange than "blood red".

Or Antares.

Recall the name's translation?

The color change of
Mars as a whole during a major planet-wide dust storm is slight, and
does not really get going until a planet-wide dust storm is near its
height. Clear skies to you.

2001's opposition was unusual. I had never seen Mars so washed-out
looking. Figured it was a dust storm. My guess was verified by news
headlines shortly thereafter.

Your own mind is your sharpest viewing instrument.

Alan W. Craft wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 01:17:52 -0700, "Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A." ...reflected:

David Knisely wrote:

Hi there. You posted:

You won't need a telescope. Martian weather is discernable by naked eye. Large
dust storms will change the planet's hue from the characteristic, metallic blood
red to pale beige.

You will if you want to actually see this particular cloud, although at
its height, it was reported visible in a 4 inch refractor, so it didn't
take much aperture. As for the color, Mars, at least to me, has never
been even close to "blood red" unless it is quite low towards the
horizon.

Red, like an xmas tree ball. At a distance of about 35,000,000
miles. Mars has always looked ever-so-slightly metallic to my eyes.

It looks more of a pale pinkish-orange ("pink salmon"). I
consider the Carbon stars like V Aquilae or TX Piscium to appear more
red to the eye than Mars currently is, although again, these stars are
more of a deep reddish-orange than "blood red".

Or Antares.

Recall the name's translation?

The color change of
Mars as a whole during a major planet-wide dust storm is slight, and
does not really get going until a planet-wide dust storm is near its
height. Clear skies to you.

2001's opposition was unusual. I had never seen Mars so washed-out
looking. Figured it was a dust storm. My guess was verified by news
headlines shortly thereafter.

Your own mind is your sharpest viewing instrument.

Fancy you in here casting your dead eye heavenward.

Alan

Living tissue, various connective and nerve types. Skyward.

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 03:17:02 -0700, "Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A." ...reflected:

Alan W. Craft wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 01:17:52 -0700, "Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A." ...reflected:

David Knisely wrote:

Hi there. You posted:

You won't need a telescope. Martian weather is discernable by naked eye. Large
dust storms will change the planet's hue from the characteristic, metallic blood
red to pale beige.

You will if you want to actually see this particular cloud, although at
its height, it was reported visible in a 4 inch refractor, so it didn't
take much aperture. As for the color, Mars, at least to me, has never
been even close to "blood red" unless it is quite low towards the
horizon.

Red, like an xmas tree ball. At a distance of about 35,000,000
miles. Mars has always looked ever-so-slightly metallic to my eyes.

It looks more of a pale pinkish-orange ("pink salmon"). I
consider the Carbon stars like V Aquilae or TX Piscium to appear more
red to the eye than Mars currently is, although again, these stars are
more of a deep reddish-orange than "blood red".

Or Antares.

Recall the name's translation?

The color change of
Mars as a whole during a major planet-wide dust storm is slight, and
does not really get going until a planet-wide dust storm is near its
height. Clear skies to you.

2001's opposition was unusual. I had never seen Mars so washed-out
looking. Figured it was a dust storm. My guess was verified by news
headlines shortly thereafter.

Your own mind is your sharpest viewing instrument.

Fancy you in here casting your dead eye heavenward.

Alan

Living tissue, various connective and nerve types. Skyward.

The flesh cannot contemplate nor revel in the heavens.

Alan

Richard DeLuca wrote:

Tom & Dave,

Naked eye, Mars usually appears orange to me, not blood-red as you so
often see the media describe it.

However, I am not willing to dismiss the possibly that global dust
storms may actually be detectable without optical aid, either through
slight color change and/or brightness. I wonder if there's any
empirical evidence.

The last opposition when the dust storm went global, I saw little major
change in the overall color of Mars to the unaided eye. The comparison
of the HST images before and during the storm also don't show much of a
color shift except perhaps a bit to the red, as the white clouds and
polar cap were less visible than in the image taken before the storm
(may also have been the way the images were processed). In any case,
the color of Mars visually in the telescope certainly isn't "blood red"
by any stretch of the imagination. This current dust cloud in Hellas is
just a bit lighter in shade than the rest of the planet with perhaps a
hint of yellow, although it still is very close to the underlying
lighter "pink salmon" shade of the lighter regions. The color index
(B-V) of Mars as a whole is about 1.36, so its not quite as red as
Antares (B-V of 1.84), although it is noticably brighter than that star
right now. Mars is about as red as Aldebaran (B-V of 1.48) and
certainly not nearly as red as V Aquilae, which has a B-V of around
3.858. It will be interesting to compare Mars to Aldebaran next time it
gets fairly close to it on the sky. Clear skies to you.
--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 10th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 27-Aug. 1st, 2003, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************

Alan W. Craft wrote:

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 03:17:02 -0700, "Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A." ...reflected:

Alan W. Craft wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 01:17:52 -0700, "Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A." ...reflected:

David Knisely wrote:

Hi there. You posted:

You won't need a telescope. Martian weather is discernable by naked eye. Large
dust storms will change the planet's hue from the characteristic, metallic blood
red to pale beige.

You will if you want to actually see this particular cloud, although at
its height, it was reported visible in a 4 inch refractor, so it didn't
take much aperture. As for the color, Mars, at least to me, has never
been even close to "blood red" unless it is quite low towards the
horizon.

Red, like an xmas tree ball. At a distance of about 35,000,000
miles. Mars has always looked ever-so-slightly metallic to my eyes.

It looks more of a pale pinkish-orange ("pink salmon"). I
consider the Carbon stars like V Aquilae or TX Piscium to appear more
red to the eye than Mars currently is, although again, these stars are
more of a deep reddish-orange than "blood red".

Or Antares.

Recall the name's translation?

The color change of
Mars as a whole during a major planet-wide dust storm is slight, and
does not really get going until a planet-wide dust storm is near its
height. Clear skies to you.

2001's opposition was unusual. I had never seen Mars so washed-out
looking. Figured it was a dust storm. My guess was verified by news
headlines shortly thereafter.

Your own mind is your sharpest viewing instrument.

Fancy you in here casting your dead eye heavenward.

Alan

Living tissue, various connective and nerve types. Skyward.

The flesh cannot contemplate nor revel in the heavens.

Alan

The mind can.