Newbie ? on viewing Mars

Hello all.

I recently acquired a 25 year old Meade 8" f/6 Newtonian with Meade
Orthoscopic eyepieces.

Last night I decided to view Mars. After doing, what I hope, was reasonable
collimation, I headed out to check out the view. Star images focused to a
sharp point and on either side of focus had a somewhat round airy disk. Mars
showed a distinct disk with sharp edges against the sky using 49x. However
Mars (elevation 21 degrees) showed absolutely no detail, just a pure white
disk. The atmosphere seemed steady with little turbulence. Even at 100x the
situation was the same.

So the question is.......... why no detail whatsoever? What am I missing or
maybe doing wrong?

Thanks.

Rick

"Rick Mintz" wrote in
news
Hello all.

I recently acquired a 25 year old Meade 8" f/6 Newtonian with Meade
Orthoscopic eyepieces.

Last night I decided to view Mars. After doing, what I hope, was
reasonable collimation, I headed out to check out the view. Star
images focused to a sharp point and on either side of focus had a
somewhat round airy disk. Mars showed a distinct disk with sharp edges
against the sky using 49x. However Mars (elevation 21 degrees) showed
absolutely no detail, just a pure white disk. The atmosphere seemed
steady with little turbulence. Even at 100x the situation was the
same.

So the question is.......... why no detail whatsoever? What am I
missing or maybe doing wrong?

Thanks.

Rick



Here is a link that has been posted earlier on this topic. Go to "Trouble
shooting"

Martin Lewicki

"Rick Mintz" wrote in
news
Hello all.

I recently acquired a 25 year old Meade 8" f/6 Newtonian with Meade
Orthoscopic eyepieces.

Last night I decided to view Mars. After doing, what I hope, was
reasonable collimation, I headed out to check out the view. Star
images focused to a sharp point and on either side of focus had a
somewhat round airy disk. Mars showed a distinct disk with sharp edges
against the sky using 49x. However Mars (elevation 21 degrees) showed
absolutely no detail, just a pure white disk. The atmosphere seemed
steady with little turbulence. Even at 100x the situation was the
same.

So the question is.......... why no detail whatsoever? What am I
missing or maybe doing wrong?

Thanks.

Rick



Here is a link that has been posted earlier on this topic. Go to "Trouble
shooting"

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mlewicki/Marsseeing.htm

Martin Lewicki

Hi there. You posted:

I recently acquired a 25 year old Meade 8" f/6 Newtonian with Meade
Orthoscopic eyepieces.

Last night I decided to view Mars. After doing, what I hope, was reasonable
collimation, I headed out to check out the view. Star images focused to a
sharp point and on either side of focus had a somewhat round airy disk. Mars
showed a distinct disk with sharp edges against the sky using 49x. However
Mars (elevation 21 degrees) showed absolutely no detail, just a pure white
disk. The atmosphere seemed steady with little turbulence. Even at 100x the
situation was the same.

So the question is.......... why no detail whatsoever? What am I missing or
maybe doing wrong?


You are using far too low a magnification. Start at something over 150x and
go up from there. Also, make sure that your telescope has been in the outside
air for at least half an hour, and observe Mars when it is as high above the
horizon as you can. Don't try viewing over hot pavement or over the tops of
houses, as heat waves from them can disturb the quality of the view (grassy
areas are good). The markings on Mars have very low contrast (like a pale
bluish-grey color), so be prepared for that. A red filter can also help
enhance the visibility of the dark markings. 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 *
**********************************************

I had asked a similar question (Subject: Mars in a 8" scope Date: 2003-08-12).
If you can, refer to that thread. Almost all the responses are
summarized in Martin Lewicki's web site:

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mlewicki/Marsseeing.htm

"Rick Mintz" wrote in message . ..
Hello all.

I recently acquired a 25 year old Meade 8" f/6 Newtonian with Meade
Orthoscopic eyepieces.

Last night I decided to view Mars. After doing, what I hope, was reasonable
collimation, I headed out to check out the view. Star images focused to a
sharp point and on either side of focus had a somewhat round airy disk. Mars
showed a distinct disk with sharp edges against the sky using 49x. However
Mars (elevation 21 degrees) showed absolutely no detail, just a pure white
disk. The atmosphere seemed steady with little turbulence. Even at 100x the
situation was the same.

So the question is.......... why no detail whatsoever? What am I missing or
maybe doing wrong?

Thanks.

Rick

You should try an orange/red filter. It will greatly improve your view of
Mars. But even without a filter, your 8" scope should show a myriad of
detail... Check your scope collimation and eyepiece quality. Push up the
magnification, 100x is not enough to enjoy a good view of the planets.

- John

"Rick Mintz" wrote in message
news
Hello all.

I recently acquired a 25 year old Meade 8" f/6 Newtonian with Meade
Orthoscopic eyepieces.

Last night I decided to view Mars. After doing, what I hope, was
reasonable
collimation, I headed out to check out the view. Star images focused to a
sharp point and on either side of focus had a somewhat round airy disk.
Mars
showed a distinct disk with sharp edges against the sky using 49x. However
Mars (elevation 21 degrees) showed absolutely no detail, just a pure white
disk. The atmosphere seemed steady with little turbulence. Even at 100x
the
situation was the same.

So the question is.......... why no detail whatsoever? What am I missing
or
maybe doing wrong?

Thanks.

Rick