Did I see Mars?

Around 11:45p.m.e.s.t., looking southeast, I saw what appeared to be a
really bright star, which I believe was Mars. Please know I am very
new to this. In fact, when I read about how close Mars was, I borrowed
a friends telescope (cheap one) and looked at this "star." What I saw
was a planet with a red outer ring with the rest looking sort of gray
or something (maybe blurry?). I am sure it was Mars, but why wasn't
the whole planet as red as the outer ring?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Mark Ferrante

FERRANTE wrote in alt.astronomy:

Around 11:45p.m.e.s.t., looking southeast, I saw what appeared to be a
really bright star, which I believe was Mars. Please know I am very
new to this. In fact, when I read about how close Mars was, I borrowed
a friends telescope (cheap one) and looked at this "star." What I saw
was a planet with a red outer ring with the rest looking sort of gray
or something (maybe blurry?). I am sure it was Mars, but why wasn't
the whole planet as red as the outer ring?

At 11.45 pm Mars is low in SE to SSE, about 15 degrees above the horizon.
And it's by far the brightest object in the sky with no moon around.

Depending on your experience with scopes and what size the scope was, Mars
shows quite some surface details .

http://www.geocities.com/ceebee_2/mars.jpg

gives an impression of surface details, generated by the program "Mars
Previewer II".

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CeeBee


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Wellington: "By God, sir, so you have!"


Google CeeBee @ www.geocities.com/ceebee_2

It's possible the "red" you saw was just some chromatic aberration. If you
see a star in the telescope it just looks like a pinpoint of light. If you
see Mars it is clearly a sphere. Mars is very bright right now and it's
hard to see details, especially if you are not experienced or if there is a
lot of light pollution where you are.
Mars is overwhelmingly the brightest object in the sky other than the moon
at this time. If you saw a very bright object in the SSE and it looked like
a small sphere in your eyepiece then you saw Mars.

"CeeBee" wrote in message
. 6.67...
FERRANTE wrote in alt.astronomy:

Around 11:45p.m.e.s.t., looking southeast, I saw what appeared to be a
really bright star, which I believe was Mars. Please know I am very
new to this. In fact, when I read about how close Mars was, I borrowed
a friends telescope (cheap one) and looked at this "star." What I saw
was a planet with a red outer ring with the rest looking sort of gray
or something (maybe blurry?). I am sure it was Mars, but why wasn't
the whole planet as red as the outer ring?

At 11.45 pm Mars is low in SE to SSE, about 15 degrees above the horizon.
And it's by far the brightest object in the sky with no moon around.

Depending on your experience with scopes and what size the scope was, Mars
shows quite some surface details .

http://www.geocities.com/ceebee_2/mars.jpg

gives an impression of surface details, generated by the program "Mars
Previewer II".

--
CeeBee


Uxbridge: "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!"
Wellington: "By God, sir, so you have!"


Google CeeBee @ www.geocities.com/ceebee_2

On Sat, 30 Aug 2003 19:01:35 -0400, FERRANTE
wrote:

Around 11:45p.m.e.s.t., looking southeast, I saw what appeared to be a
really bright star, which I believe was Mars. Please know I am very
new to this. In fact, when I read about how close Mars was, I borrowed
a friends telescope (cheap one) and looked at this "star." What I saw
was a planet with a red outer ring with the rest looking sort of gray
or something (maybe blurry?). I am sure it was Mars, but why wasn't
the whole planet as red as the outer ring?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Mark Ferrante

Yes you probably saw Mars, however it is so close and so bright, it
reached perihelion yesterday, that its almost impossible to pick out
detail without some sort of filtration.

It should have appeared as very bright yet a very pale pinky/orange in
your scope

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The two most abundant elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity.
Why is the ratio of Hydrogen to Stupidity less in usenet than anywhere else in the universe?

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 30 Aug 2003 19:01:35 -0400, FERRANTE
wrote:

Around 11:45p.m.e.s.t., looking southeast, I saw what appeared to be a
really bright star, which I believe was Mars. Please know I am very
new to this. In fact, when I read about how close Mars was, I borrowed
a friends telescope (cheap one) and looked at this "star." What I saw
was a planet with a red outer ring with the rest looking sort of gray
or something (maybe blurry?). I am sure it was Mars, but why wasn't
the whole planet as red as the outer ring?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Mark Ferrante

Yes you probably saw Mars, however it is so close and so bright, it
reached perihelion yesterday, that its almost impossible to pick out
detail without some sort of filtration.

It should have appeared as very bright yet a very pale pinky/orange in
your scope


I saw it on Thursday and Wednesday of last week without a scope, in the
city. It was quite nice, actually. If I looked away and then back and then
away and then back again, I could see the red, but otherwise it was yellow.
Up there at about 11 o'clock in the sky. Beautiful, even if small. I think I
saw it nearly as bright almost 25 years ago. I remember that, because I
could see the red very easily then. I may be off a few years, but in
reality, this visit of the planet is not much different from several that
have occurred over the recent past. The sheer number of miles is less, but
its relative closeness is really not a big thing -- it has happened recently
several times.


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