Help! Which Martian moon did I see?

Hello all, just came in from viewing Mars in my 8 inch SCT. I'm 99.9% sure
I saw a moon. Can someone help me confirm? I was viewing with a 2x barlow
and a 25 mm eyepiece and a baader contrast filter. Time was 10: pm cdt to
11 pm cdt. I had Mars in the center of FOV and the S. ice cap was tilted
at about 30 degrees. I saw a faint speck about, and forgive my way of
describing this...about 3 "Mars widths" away from Mars, at an exact 30
degree angle from the S. Ice cap. You could draw a straight 30 degree
angeled line from the Ice cap to this potential moon. Very faint, had to use
averted vision mostly, but no doubt about the fact it was there. Not like
any star I've ever seen. Can someone tell me if and what moon this was?
Thanks!!!!!

Lunatiki wrote:
Hello all, just came in from viewing Mars in my 8 inch SCT. I'm 99.9% sure
I saw a moon. Can someone help me confirm? I was viewing with a 2x barlow
and a 25 mm eyepiece and a baader contrast filter. Time was 10: pm cdt to
11 pm cdt. I had Mars in the center of FOV and the S. ice cap was tilted
at about 30 degrees. I saw a faint speck about, and forgive my way of
describing this...about 3 "Mars widths" away from Mars, at an exact 30
degree angle from the S. Ice cap. You could draw a straight 30 degree
angeled line from the Ice cap to this potential moon. Very faint, had to use
averted vision mostly, but no doubt about the fact it was there. Not like
any star I've ever seen. Can someone tell me if and what moon this was?
Thanks!!!!!

Sorry, but there was no moon near that position at that time (on either
side of the S. cap--you didn't say which). There was a 12th mag star
about 4-5 mars widths away at an angle of 30 degrees from the cap though
(towards the SW). I bet that's what you saw.

Mars is passing through a fairly rich field right now. It is essential
to rule out background stars when looking for a moon.

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

Lunatiki wrote:
Hello all, just came in from viewing Mars in my 8 inch SCT. I'm 99.9% sure
I saw a moon. Can someone help me confirm? I was viewing with a 2x barlow
and a 25 mm eyepiece and a baader contrast filter. Time was 10: pm cdt to
11 pm cdt. I had Mars in the center of FOV and the S. ice cap was tilted
at about 30 degrees. I saw a faint speck about, and forgive my way of
describing this...about 3 "Mars widths" away from Mars, at an exact 30
degree angle from the S. Ice cap. You could draw a straight 30 degree
angeled line from the Ice cap to this potential moon. Very faint, had to use
averted vision mostly, but no doubt about the fact it was there. Not like
any star I've ever seen. Can someone tell me if and what moon this was?
Thanks!!!!!

Sorry, but there was no moon near that position at that time (on either
side of the S. cap--you didn't say which). There was a 12th mag star
about 4-5 mars widths away at an angle of 30 degrees from the cap though
(towards the SW). I bet that's what you saw.

Mars is passing through a fairly rich field right now. It is essential
to rule out background stars when looking for a moon.

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

well crap. Thanks for your help though.


"Greg Crinklaw" wrote in message
...
Lunatiki wrote:
Hello all, just came in from viewing Mars in my 8 inch SCT. I'm 99.9%
sure
I saw a moon. Can someone help me confirm? I was viewing with a 2x
barlow
and a 25 mm eyepiece and a baader contrast filter. Time was 10: pm cdt
to
11 pm cdt. I had Mars in the center of FOV and the S. ice cap was
tilted
at about 30 degrees. I saw a faint speck about, and forgive my way of
describing this...about 3 "Mars widths" away from Mars, at an exact 30
degree angle from the S. Ice cap. You could draw a straight 30 degree
angeled line from the Ice cap to this potential moon. Very faint, had to
use
averted vision mostly, but no doubt about the fact it was there. Not
like
any star I've ever seen. Can someone tell me if and what moon this was?
Thanks!!!!!

Sorry, but there was no moon near that position at that time (on either
side of the S. cap--you didn't say which). There was a 12th mag star
about 4-5 mars widths away at an angle of 30 degrees from the cap though
(towards the SW). I bet that's what you saw.

Mars is passing through a fairly rich field right now. It is essential
to rule out background stars when looking for a moon.

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

well crap. Thanks for your help though.


"Greg Crinklaw" wrote in message
...
Lunatiki wrote:
Hello all, just came in from viewing Mars in my 8 inch SCT. I'm 99.9%
sure
I saw a moon. Can someone help me confirm? I was viewing with a 2x
barlow
and a 25 mm eyepiece and a baader contrast filter. Time was 10: pm cdt
to
11 pm cdt. I had Mars in the center of FOV and the S. ice cap was
tilted
at about 30 degrees. I saw a faint speck about, and forgive my way of
describing this...about 3 "Mars widths" away from Mars, at an exact 30
degree angle from the S. Ice cap. You could draw a straight 30 degree
angeled line from the Ice cap to this potential moon. Very faint, had to
use
averted vision mostly, but no doubt about the fact it was there. Not
like
any star I've ever seen. Can someone tell me if and what moon this was?
Thanks!!!!!

Sorry, but there was no moon near that position at that time (on either
side of the S. cap--you didn't say which). There was a 12th mag star
about 4-5 mars widths away at an angle of 30 degrees from the cap though
(towards the SW). I bet that's what you saw.

Mars is passing through a fairly rich field right now. It is essential
to rule out background stars when looking for a moon.

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

hard to say, but starry night pro shows deimos in approximately that
location (say 30 degrees clockwise, off the southern pole) at 7:30 PDT (I'm
over here on the west coast). however, it was only about one and a half mars
diameters away. deimos is at magnitude 11.45, so it's brighter than some of
the stars in thae background field. there was one bright (9.93) star
more-or-less south of the southern pole, but it was about six mars diameters
away. in any case, it's kind of hard to see the moons at less than maximum
elongation, just because of the glare from mars. the baader filter might
have helped in this regard though.

it'd be easier to determine what's visible in your eyepiece with a couple
more bits of information...the focal length of your 'scope, and the apparent
viewing angle of your eyepiece.

"Lunatiki" none wrote in message ...
Hello all, just came in from viewing Mars in my 8 inch SCT. I'm 99.9%
sure
I saw a moon. Can someone help me confirm? I was viewing with a 2x
barlow
and a 25 mm eyepiece and a baader contrast filter. Time was 10: pm cdt to
11 pm cdt. I had Mars in the center of FOV and the S. ice cap was tilted
at about 30 degrees. I saw a faint speck about, and forgive my way of
describing this...about 3 "Mars widths" away from Mars, at an exact 30
degree angle from the S. Ice cap. You could draw a straight 30 degree
angeled line from the Ice cap to this potential moon. Very faint, had to
use
averted vision mostly, but no doubt about the fact it was there. Not like
any star I've ever seen. Can someone tell me if and what moon this was?
Thanks!!!!!

hard to say, but starry night pro shows deimos in approximately that
location (say 30 degrees clockwise, off the southern pole) at 7:30 PDT (I'm
over here on the west coast). however, it was only about one and a half mars
diameters away. deimos is at magnitude 11.45, so it's brighter than some of
the stars in thae background field. there was one bright (9.93) star
more-or-less south of the southern pole, but it was about six mars diameters
away. in any case, it's kind of hard to see the moons at less than maximum
elongation, just because of the glare from mars. the baader filter might
have helped in this regard though.

it'd be easier to determine what's visible in your eyepiece with a couple
more bits of information...the focal length of your 'scope, and the apparent
viewing angle of your eyepiece.

"Lunatiki" none wrote in message ...
Hello all, just came in from viewing Mars in my 8 inch SCT. I'm 99.9%
sure
I saw a moon. Can someone help me confirm? I was viewing with a 2x
barlow
and a 25 mm eyepiece and a baader contrast filter. Time was 10: pm cdt to
11 pm cdt. I had Mars in the center of FOV and the S. ice cap was tilted
at about 30 degrees. I saw a faint speck about, and forgive my way of
describing this...about 3 "Mars widths" away from Mars, at an exact 30
degree angle from the S. Ice cap. You could draw a straight 30 degree
angeled line from the Ice cap to this potential moon. Very faint, had to
use
averted vision mostly, but no doubt about the fact it was there. Not like
any star I've ever seen. Can someone tell me if and what moon this was?
Thanks!!!!!

"Lunatiki" none wrote:

Hello all, just came in from viewing Mars in my 8 inch SCT. I'm 99.9%
sure
I saw a moon. Can someone help me confirm? I was viewing with a 2x
barlow
and a 25 mm eyepiece and a baader contrast filter. Time was 10: pm cdt to
11 pm cdt. I had Mars in the center of FOV and the S. ice cap was tilted
at about 30 degrees. I saw a faint speck about, and forgive my way of
describing this...about 3 "Mars widths" away from Mars, at an exact 30
degree angle from the S. Ice cap. You could draw a straight 30 degree
angeled line from the Ice cap to this potential moon. Very faint, had to
use
averted vision mostly, but no doubt about the fact it was there. Not like
any star I've ever seen. Can someone tell me if and what moon this was?
Thanks!!!!!

To generate a graphical Phobos Deimos ephemeris go to the Martian Moon 2.0
Tracker site http://ringmaster.arc.nasa.gov/tools/tracker2_mar.html .
Enter in the time period, interval, and scale. Then hit render and download
the generated Postscript file for viewing in Acrobat reader. Moon orbits
will be plotted out as curving lines around Mars at the specified
intervals.

"Lunatiki" none wrote:

Hello all, just came in from viewing Mars in my 8 inch SCT. I'm 99.9%
sure
I saw a moon. Can someone help me confirm? I was viewing with a 2x
barlow
and a 25 mm eyepiece and a baader contrast filter. Time was 10: pm cdt to
11 pm cdt. I had Mars in the center of FOV and the S. ice cap was tilted
at about 30 degrees. I saw a faint speck about, and forgive my way of
describing this...about 3 "Mars widths" away from Mars, at an exact 30
degree angle from the S. Ice cap. You could draw a straight 30 degree
angeled line from the Ice cap to this potential moon. Very faint, had to
use
averted vision mostly, but no doubt about the fact it was there. Not like
any star I've ever seen. Can someone tell me if and what moon this was?
Thanks!!!!!

To generate a graphical Phobos Deimos ephemeris go to the Martian Moon 2.0
Tracker site http://ringmaster.arc.nasa.gov/tools/tracker2_mar.html .
Enter in the time period, interval, and scale. Then hit render and download
the generated Postscript file for viewing in Acrobat reader. Moon orbits
will be plotted out as curving lines around Mars at the specified
intervals.

I ran the simulation on Guide 7.0 and saw Deimos about
1.5 Mars diameters away in roughly the position you
stated at 11:00PM CDT, just as a previous post
indicated. The close proximity to the planet could have
made that observation difficult.

I picked it up myself last night rather easily in the 16"
at about 2:00AM EDT. The elongation was greater
at that time (about 3 Mars diameters). Phobos was
in line with Deimos, slightly less than a Mars diameter
away from the planet. Despite being brighter than
Deimos (10.3 versus 11.4), the proximity to the planet
prevented me from seeing it, even in an a scope that
large. It seems getting the moons far enough away
from the planet is an important part of being able to
see them, as the glare from mag -2.8 Mars can easily
wash them out. Other factors can affect this as well.

Thanks, Tom Davis

"Lunatiki" none wrote in message ...
Hello all, just came in from viewing Mars in my 8 inch SCT. I'm 99.9%
sure
I saw a moon. Can someone help me confirm? I was viewing with a 2x
barlow
and a 25 mm eyepiece and a baader contrast filter. Time was 10: pm cdt to
11 pm cdt. I had Mars in the center of FOV and the S. ice cap was tilted
at about 30 degrees. I saw a faint speck about, and forgive my way of
describing this...about 3 "Mars widths" away from Mars, at an exact 30
degree angle from the S. Ice cap. You could draw a straight 30 degree
angeled line from the Ice cap to this potential moon. Very faint, had to
use
averted vision mostly, but no doubt about the fact it was there. Not like
any star I've ever seen. Can someone tell me if and what moon this was?
Thanks!!!!!