I can see Mars but.....

Martin Anderson wrote:
[...]
I have been viewing Mars upto about 2am when its clear but all i can see is
a white ball. I am using a 200mm F5and have managed upto 250X mag. Is it
absolutely necessary to use a filter.

OK, try a much lower magnification. If your optics are in good nick, you
should be able to see much more than that, with easily discernible
detail emerging by the time you get to x100.

If you can't, then there is an optical problem: seeing, tube currents,
poor collimation, aberrations in the mirrors or eyepiece, aberrations in
your eye -- all are candidates.

I see many images(mostly with web
cam/ccd), do these have filters?

No need for filters, but no harm in trying -- they can enhance detail.
(See my web tutorial on filters)

I collimated my scope last weekend and it is about 95% correct.

Not good enough!

Am i doing anything wrong?

Well, get your collimation 100% correct, then do a simple star-test, and
tell us what you see inside and outside focus.


Best,
Stephen

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"Martin Anderson" wrote in message ...
Hi all.

I have been viewing Mars upto about 2am when its clear but all i can see is
a white ball. I am using a 200mm F5 and have managed up to 250X mag. Is it
absolutely necessary to use a filter? I see many images (mostly with web
cam/ccd). Do these have filters?

I collimated my scope last weekend and it is about 95% correct.

Am I doing anything wrong?

clear skies

Martin A

F/5 is fast enough to be critical in collimation. Avoid looking over
roofs that have heated up during the day. (Difficult unless you're
rural &/or mobile). Use 100-120x first and get a firm grip on the
Polar Cap with your eyeball. Keep watching after 2am. Or even start
then! Mars is so low the slightest increase in altitude is a bonus.

Get SkyMap Pro 9 (free demo download) and enter your observing site's
location. Search for planets Mars goto then lock onto Mars Now
step forward with the time arrows to find Mars' maximum altitude. You
can reduce the time steps if you like. Now watch Mars wobble across
the low, southern night sky looking for the highest altitude before it
gets too light. You can click on about Mars at intervals if you
can't easily judge altitude on the map.

Back in the real world I found 'seeing' (and the very subtle
shading on the planet) improved continuously from boiling to a low
simmer. It was only just starting to get interesting this morning at
3am CET (2am UK). When I felt I could no longer remain vertical and be
of any use at work today.

Patience will be rewarded! By those who observe in green "wellies" (I
kid you not) use a 'comfy' aluminium stepladder to reach the eyepiece
and now own a long, ugly, black, foam dewshield for their refractor.
Mars will not be so antisocial in its hours later on in the year. But
by then it will have shrunk in the dew.

Chris.B

"Martin Anderson" wrote in message ...
Hi all.

I have been viewing Mars upto about 2am when its clear but all i can see is
a white ball. I am using a 200mm F5 and have managed up to 250X mag. Is it
absolutely necessary to use a filter? I see many images (mostly with web
cam/ccd). Do these have filters?

I collimated my scope last weekend and it is about 95% correct.

Am I doing anything wrong?

clear skies

Martin A

F/5 is fast enough to be critical in collimation. Avoid looking over
roofs that have heated up during the day. (Difficult unless you're
rural &/or mobile). Use 100-120x first and get a firm grip on the
Polar Cap with your eyeball. Keep watching after 2am. Or even start
then! Mars is so low the slightest increase in altitude is a bonus.

Get SkyMap Pro 9 (free demo download) and enter your observing site's
location. Search for planets Mars goto then lock onto Mars Now
step forward with the time arrows to find Mars' maximum altitude. You
can reduce the time steps if you like. Now watch Mars wobble across
the low, southern night sky looking for the highest altitude before it
gets too light. You can click on about Mars at intervals if you
can't easily judge altitude on the map.

Back in the real world I found 'seeing' (and the very subtle
shading on the planet) improved continuously from boiling to a low
simmer. It was only just starting to get interesting this morning at
3am CET (2am UK). When I felt I could no longer remain vertical and be
of any use at work today.

Patience will be rewarded! By those who observe in green "wellies" (I
kid you not) use a 'comfy' aluminium stepladder to reach the eyepiece
and now own a long, ugly, black, foam dewshield for their refractor.
Mars will not be so antisocial in its hours later on in the year. But
by then it will have shrunk in the dew.

Chris.B

"Chris.B" wrote in message
om...
"Martin Anderson" wrote in message
...
Hi all.

I have been viewing Mars upto about 2am when its clear but all i can see
is
a white ball. I am using a 200mm F5 and have managed up to 250X mag. Is
it
absolutely necessary to use a filter? I see many images (mostly with web
cam/ccd). Do these have filters?

I collimated my scope last weekend and it is about 95% correct.

Am I doing anything wrong?

clear skies

Martin A

F/5 is fast enough to be critical in collimation. Avoid looking over
roofs that have heated up during the day. (Difficult unless you're
rural &/or mobile). Use 100-120x first and get a firm grip on the
Polar Cap with your eyeball. Keep watching after 2am. Or even start
then! Mars is so low the slightest increase in altitude is a bonus.

Get SkyMap Pro 9 (free demo download) and enter your observing site's
location. Search for planets Mars goto then lock onto Mars Now
step forward with the time arrows to find Mars' maximum altitude. You
can reduce the time steps if you like. Now watch Mars wobble across
the low, southern night sky looking for the highest altitude before it
gets too light. You can click on about Mars at intervals if you
can't easily judge altitude on the map.

Back in the real world I found 'seeing' (and the very subtle
shading on the planet) improved continuously from boiling to a low
simmer. It was only just starting to get interesting this morning at
3am CET (2am UK). When I felt I could no longer remain vertical and be
of any use at work today.

Patience will be rewarded! By those who observe in green "wellies" (I
kid you not) use a 'comfy' aluminium stepladder to reach the eyepiece
and now own a long, ugly, black, foam dewshield for their refractor.
Mars will not be so antisocial in its hours later on in the year. But
by then it will have shrunk in the dew.

Chris.B

Cheers for that Chris.

I had another attempt at collimating again today and blow me if the clouds
didn't appear!! I will try Mars again at the earliest opportunity.

Regards

Martin A

"Chris.B" wrote in message
om...
"Martin Anderson" wrote in message
...
Hi all.

I have been viewing Mars upto about 2am when its clear but all i can see
is
a white ball. I am using a 200mm F5 and have managed up to 250X mag. Is
it
absolutely necessary to use a filter? I see many images (mostly with web
cam/ccd). Do these have filters?

I collimated my scope last weekend and it is about 95% correct.

Am I doing anything wrong?

clear skies

Martin A

F/5 is fast enough to be critical in collimation. Avoid looking over
roofs that have heated up during the day. (Difficult unless you're
rural &/or mobile). Use 100-120x first and get a firm grip on the
Polar Cap with your eyeball. Keep watching after 2am. Or even start
then! Mars is so low the slightest increase in altitude is a bonus.

Get SkyMap Pro 9 (free demo download) and enter your observing site's
location. Search for planets Mars goto then lock onto Mars Now
step forward with the time arrows to find Mars' maximum altitude. You
can reduce the time steps if you like. Now watch Mars wobble across
the low, southern night sky looking for the highest altitude before it
gets too light. You can click on about Mars at intervals if you
can't easily judge altitude on the map.

Back in the real world I found 'seeing' (and the very subtle
shading on the planet) improved continuously from boiling to a low
simmer. It was only just starting to get interesting this morning at
3am CET (2am UK). When I felt I could no longer remain vertical and be
of any use at work today.

Patience will be rewarded! By those who observe in green "wellies" (I
kid you not) use a 'comfy' aluminium stepladder to reach the eyepiece
and now own a long, ugly, black, foam dewshield for their refractor.
Mars will not be so antisocial in its hours later on in the year. But
by then it will have shrunk in the dew.

Chris.B

Cheers for that Chris.

I had another attempt at collimating again today and blow me if the clouds
didn't appear!! I will try Mars again at the earliest opportunity.

Regards

Martin A

"Anthony Stokes" wrote in message ...

Although I can apply orange 21 , blue 80A and other filters while observing
Mars to good effect during the night - I am continuing during June, July and
until now in August to see more detail more readily when Mars is against a
quite bright near-daylight sky background rather than during the night hours
!

Ant

I took my own advice and got up at three am for an hour & a half on
Mars. Those markings are subtle! Photographing them is even more
difficult. I managed to get up to about 180x this time using a
Celestron ND96-0.3 My only filter apart from a Yellow 8 (which doesn't
help). It ain't easy is it?

Chris.B (zomby mode)

"Anthony Stokes" wrote in message ...

Although I can apply orange 21 , blue 80A and other filters while observing
Mars to good effect during the night - I am continuing during June, July and
until now in August to see more detail more readily when Mars is against a
quite bright near-daylight sky background rather than during the night hours
!

Ant

I took my own advice and got up at three am for an hour & a half on
Mars. Those markings are subtle! Photographing them is even more
difficult. I managed to get up to about 180x this time using a
Celestron ND96-0.3 My only filter apart from a Yellow 8 (which doesn't
help). It ain't easy is it?

Chris.B (zomby mode)

"Chris.B" wrote in message
om...
"Anthony Stokes" wrote in message
...
I took my own advice and got up at three am for an hour & a half on
Mars. Those markings are subtle! Photographing them is even more
difficult. I managed to get up to about 180x this time using a
Celestron ND96-0.3 My only filter apart from a Yellow 8 (which doesn't
help). It ain't easy is it?
Chris.B (zomby mode)

Newcomers to Mars observing often don't appreciate how artificially
stretched the contrast between dark and light markings on Mars is often
rendered before photographs are published. In practice the contrast is
often far less than between Maria and cratered uplands on the Moon seen to
naked eye view.
80A lightblue and 21 orange are useful filters, and for smaller aperture
scopes I have found the 82A pale blue filter worthwhile. On my 150mm F8
achromat refractor the best view seems to be with Sirius Optics Minus Violet
1 and 82A filters stacked in front of 4.8MM nagler eyepiece for 250x
magnification:- but I'm able to increase to 350x maximum (with 80A blue
filter) on NexStar 11 SCT ( near London).

The views of Mars are the best I have had in 30+ years observing, though no
where near upto the standard of those apparent to observers in more
southerly latitudes.
( e.g. http://elvis.rowan.edu/marswatch/images/2003-08.html )

Ant.

"Chris.B" wrote in message
om...
"Anthony Stokes" wrote in message
...
I took my own advice and got up at three am for an hour & a half on
Mars. Those markings are subtle! Photographing them is even more
difficult. I managed to get up to about 180x this time using a
Celestron ND96-0.3 My only filter apart from a Yellow 8 (which doesn't
help). It ain't easy is it?
Chris.B (zomby mode)

Newcomers to Mars observing often don't appreciate how artificially
stretched the contrast between dark and light markings on Mars is often
rendered before photographs are published. In practice the contrast is
often far less than between Maria and cratered uplands on the Moon seen to
naked eye view.
80A lightblue and 21 orange are useful filters, and for smaller aperture
scopes I have found the 82A pale blue filter worthwhile. On my 150mm F8
achromat refractor the best view seems to be with Sirius Optics Minus Violet
1 and 82A filters stacked in front of 4.8MM nagler eyepiece for 250x
magnification:- but I'm able to increase to 350x maximum (with 80A blue
filter) on NexStar 11 SCT ( near London).

The views of Mars are the best I have had in 30+ years observing, though no
where near upto the standard of those apparent to observers in more
southerly latitudes.
( e.g. http://elvis.rowan.edu/marswatch/images/2003-08.html )

Ant.

"Anthony Stokes" wrote in message ...


Newcomers to Mars observing often don't appreciate how artificially
stretched the contrast between dark and light markings on Mars is often
rendered before photographs are published. In practice the contrast is
often far less than between Maria and cratered uplands on the Moon seen to
naked eye view.
80A lightblue and 21 orange are useful filters, and for smaller aperture
scopes I have found the 82A pale blue filter worthwhile. On my 150mm F8
achromat refractor the best view seems to be with Sirius Optics Minus Violet
1 and 82A filters stacked in front of 4.8MM nagler eyepiece for 250x
magnification:- but I'm able to increase to 350x maximum (with 80A blue
filter) on NexStar 11 SCT ( near London).

The views of Mars are the best I have had in 30+ years observing,

Ant.

You really rate the Sirius Minus Violet for the 6" f/8 do you? I
heard this filter was moisture sensitive. Will it cope with my
waist-deep dew being swapped between my cheapo Plossls? I can't afford
a Chromacor (or the Nagler). But I badly need to do something to
improve my "worms eye" view from 56N before it's all over.

Thanks
Chris.B