Solis Lacus

The eye of Mars is upon us. Solis Lacus was prominent along the central
meridian, Sunday night. Thanks to a break in the monsoonal cloud cover, I was
able to observe the red planet at 06:10 UT on August 24. The seeing was
middling, so I was limited to 247X in my 10-inch, f/4.5 Newtonian.

Popularly referred to as the Eye of Mars, this roundish feature serves as the
iris of the Martian eye. It is surrounded by Syria, Claritas, Thaumasia and
Sinai, all lighter in tone than the dark Solis Lacus. Mare Erythraeum and
Aurorae Sinus border to the east toward the preceding limb. Bosporus bridges
the expanse from Mare Erythraeum to Pontica and Aonius Sinus to the south.

A subtle finger-like albedo feature points from Aonius Sinus to the north and
east. This is Araxes. A darker finger extends from Aurorae Sinus toward the
central meridian to the west. This finger passes just north of Solis Lacus.
Taken together, this conglomeration of dark and light markings forms the Eye of
Mars.

The South Polar Cap continues to diminish in size, but still blazes brightly
white. Its dark collar has been exchanged for something less gaudy, a smoky
gray ring which edges the frozen carbon dioxide wasteland. The North Polar
Hood, a layer of clouds shrouding the polar cap, appears as a subtle
brightening along the northern limb. Portions of Niliacus Lacus and Xanthe are
visible immediately to the east. The remainder of the disk looks barren. If not
for the rich fleshtone hue, it might remind one of the Earth's Moon.

This is Mars at his biggest and best, the god of war reigning over the waning
summer sky: http://hometown.aol.com/billferris/mars082503.html

Regards,

Bill Ferris
"Cosmic Voyage: The Online Resource for Amateur Astronomers"
URL: http://www.cosmic-voyage.net
=============
Email: Remove "ic" from .comic above to respond

Hi Bill,

Bill Ferris wrote:

The eye of Mars is upon us. Solis Lacus was prominent along the central
meridian, Sunday night.

People refer to this as the boring side of Mars but I think the subtle
detail is wonderful.

Popularly referred to as the Eye of Mars, this roundish feature serves as the
iris of the Martian eye. It is surrounded by Syria, Claritas, Thaumasia and
Sinai, all lighter in tone than the dark Solis Lacus. Mare Erythraeum and
Aurorae Sinus border to the east toward the preceding limb. Bosporus bridges
the expanse from Mare Erythraeum to Pontica and Aonius Sinus to the south.

Where does Tithonius Lacus fit into all this? And isn't the northern
part of the eye circle actually Valles Marineris?

Clear skies,
Greg

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

Hi Bill,

Bill Ferris wrote:

The eye of Mars is upon us. Solis Lacus was prominent along the central
meridian, Sunday night.

People refer to this as the boring side of Mars but I think the subtle
detail is wonderful.

Popularly referred to as the Eye of Mars, this roundish feature serves as the
iris of the Martian eye. It is surrounded by Syria, Claritas, Thaumasia and
Sinai, all lighter in tone than the dark Solis Lacus. Mare Erythraeum and
Aurorae Sinus border to the east toward the preceding limb. Bosporus bridges
the expanse from Mare Erythraeum to Pontica and Aonius Sinus to the south.

Where does Tithonius Lacus fit into all this? And isn't the northern
part of the eye circle actually Valles Marineris?

Clear skies,
Greg

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

Hi Bill,

I had my 10" out last night and the seeing was quite good at times. I couldn't
help but notice that there was a "second" Solis Lacus next to the first one.
Using Mars Previewer I think I got a good look at Juventae Fons.
rat
~( );

email: remove 'et' from .com(et) in above email address

Hi Bill,

I had my 10" out last night and the seeing was quite good at times. I couldn't
help but notice that there was a "second" Solis Lacus next to the first one.
Using Mars Previewer I think I got a good look at Juventae Fons.
rat
~( );

email: remove 'et' from .com(et) in above email address

c (Bill Ferris) wrote in message ...
The eye of Mars is upon us. Solis Lacus was prominent along the central
meridian, Sunday night. Thanks to a break in the monsoonal cloud cover, I was
able to observe the red planet at 06:10 UT on August 24. The seeing was
middling, so I was limited to 247X in my 10-inch, f/4.5 Newtonian.



HI Bill:

The seeing was pretty darned good here, and Solis Lacus looked amazing
in the C8....got a pretty good image of it too:

http://skywatch.brainiac.com/planets/index.htm

Peace,
Rod

c (Bill Ferris) wrote in message ...
The eye of Mars is upon us. Solis Lacus was prominent along the central
meridian, Sunday night. Thanks to a break in the monsoonal cloud cover, I was
able to observe the red planet at 06:10 UT on August 24. The seeing was
middling, so I was limited to 247X in my 10-inch, f/4.5 Newtonian.



HI Bill:

The seeing was pretty darned good here, and Solis Lacus looked amazing
in the C8....got a pretty good image of it too:

http://skywatch.brainiac.com/planets/index.htm

Peace,
Rod

Rod Mollise wrote:
c (Bill Ferris) wrote in message ...

The eye of Mars is upon us. Solis Lacus was prominent along the central
meridian, Sunday night. Thanks to a break in the monsoonal cloud cover, I was
able to observe the red planet at 06:10 UT on August 24. The seeing was
middling, so I was limited to 247X in my 10-inch, f/4.5 Newtonian.




HI Bill:

The seeing was pretty darned good here, and Solis Lacus looked amazing
in the C8....got a pretty good image of it too:

http://skywatch.brainiac.com/planets/index.htm


Nice detail, Rod. My efforts on Sunday were not as successful. Hope to
try again tonight.

Phil

Rod Mollise wrote:
c (Bill Ferris) wrote in message ...

The eye of Mars is upon us. Solis Lacus was prominent along the central
meridian, Sunday night. Thanks to a break in the monsoonal cloud cover, I was
able to observe the red planet at 06:10 UT on August 24. The seeing was
middling, so I was limited to 247X in my 10-inch, f/4.5 Newtonian.




HI Bill:

The seeing was pretty darned good here, and Solis Lacus looked amazing
in the C8....got a pretty good image of it too:

http://skywatch.brainiac.com/planets/index.htm


Nice detail, Rod. My efforts on Sunday were not as successful. Hope to
try again tonight.

Phil

Rod Mollise wrote:

c (Bill Ferris) wrote in message ...

The eye of Mars is upon us. Solis Lacus was prominent along the central
meridian, Sunday night. Thanks to a break in the monsoonal cloud cover, I was
able to observe the red planet at 06:10 UT on August 24. The seeing was
middling, so I was limited to 247X in my 10-inch, f/4.5 Newtonian.




HI Bill:

The seeing was pretty darned good here, and Solis Lacus looked amazing
in the C8....got a pretty good image of it too:

http://skywatch.brainiac.com/planets/index.htm

Nice shots.

I swear on a stack of S&T: I'm going to be ready to make such fine
photos the next time Mars is this close. There should be enough time to
prepare, even for me.