Phobos and Diemos Observed

See http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html for updated tips and
insights into observing the moons of Mars (follow the "Focus On..."
link). Now is the time!

The story of my recent successes:

On the night of August 19/20 I hauled out my ancient 6-inch Newt.
because the weather had been so variable in the evening I'd been afraid
it would rain on my large scope. Now, with the exception of the ability
to track, this scope is definitely not a good choice for detecting the
moons of mars! The mirror needs recoating, it's filthy, and I've never
really properly collimated it (no center dot). It's just not my main
scope anymore.

Nevertheless, I think I may have spotted Deimos. I put a lot of effort
into it, spending a total of about two hours at the eyepiece. I knew
exactly where Deimos was supposed to be from my software and I was able
to spot an 11th magnitude star that lay about 5' away from the planet;
still in the glare but well away for the brightest portions. Being able
to see the star really helped build my confidence as well as keep me
oriented. I could also compare its visibility in different eyepieces
and at different magnifications.

The first time it happened I was using my 8mm Radian (200x). I had Mars
just out of view to the right. The location of Deimos was half way
between the spikes from the secondary spider (for a change). Believe it
or not I like the spikes because they give me an idea of my orientation
and how far mars is off the edge of the eyepiece... I could see the
11th mag star clearly to the SW and then, all of a sudden, a tiny speck
of light appeared next to mars right at the proper location. I had just
time enough to get off an expletive, and feel a huge surge of
excitement, and then it was gone. A bit later I glimpsed something
again in the same spot, but I could not hold it visible. I got a few
more glimpses in other eyepieces but I was never able to hold it for
more than a second--not long enough to really be certain.

If I really did see it then I guess it is pretty fitting that it
happened first in the old scope. That afternoon I read a message from
Russ Lederman describing his view of Phobos and Deimos in his 20 inch
where he saw both moons without all that much difficulty and with Mars
in full view. That was a confidence builder.

On the next night (August 20/21) the weather pattern changed. It looked
like a little high pressure area--of all things--had built around my
location during the late afternoon. With much better weather I was
confident enough to bring out "Skyhound" (my 18-inch) at dusk. I
collimated it, started the fan, then went indoors and carefully cleaned
my eyepieces. I knew mars would first rise above the trees just before
midnight. No deep sky observing this night; I had other things on my
mind: two of them.

I didn't fool around, putting in what has become my "goto" eyepiece: my
8mm Radian. Compared to the previous night's view in the 6-inch I was
at first overwhelmed by the brightness of Mars and all the scattered
light surrounding it. I remember thinking something to the effect that
there was no way I'd be able to make out two faint specks in all that
muck. Phobos was nearing elongation so I concentrated on the eastern
side of the planet, about one Mars diameter away from the edge of the
disk. Nothing. I took a deep breath and decided to enjoy Mars itself
for awhile. The seeing suddenly improved and I tried to tease more
detail out of the southern features. In all of this I only slowly
realized that I was seeing a tiny speck of light to the east of the
planet. I turned my attention to it and it disappeared. Moving my eye
up and away a bit it came back into view and I was able to hold it
plainly visible. Phobos! I let out the customary "Oh... my... god!"
and felt the strain on the skin around my eye from the big grin I was
wearing.

It was sort of an emotional moment--a huge wave of serene satisfaction.

Back at the eyepiece I found Phobos to be an easy spot; every time I
looked, there it was shining away. I tracked down Deimos way off to the
west of the planet. I found it the more difficult of the two, mostly
because it was way out there in no man's land where there were few
guideposts to get to it. Comparatively, Phobos was just right there off
the equator of the planet. Phobos gave the appearance of a larger, more
turbulent dot, powering through the bright glare, while Deimos appeared
more as a tiny faint speck lost in a sea of haze.

I soon came to the point where I could spot each moon easily, requiring
only a short eye movement between the two. They were too far apart to
see simultaneously, but after a while I had the same impression one
would have observing Saturn--there are those pesky moons, always hanging
about. Remarkable after all these years of trying to see them.

I thought of my "observing the moons of mars" web page and suddenly
realized that I had an opportunity to do some experimentation that could
possibly help others looking to see these two illusive objects. I tried
many things: different eyepieces, Barlow, occulting bar, Mars off the
edge, etc.

I have updated my page with this and other insights I have gleamed from
the experience. Don't think this is for 18-inch scopes only! I would
not be surprised if Deimos could be glimpsed in a 4-inch under just the
right conditions. I expect our Ron B[ee] to announce any time that his
"Light Cup tasted Deimos". ;-)

It's now or never, no matter the size of your scope!

My page:

http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
(follow the "Focus On..." link)

Good luck,
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

In article ,
Greg Crinklaw wrote:

See http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html for updated tips and
insights into observing the moons of Mars (follow the "Focus On..."
link). Now is the time!

The story of my recent successes:

SNIP_


Nicely done, Greg. I share your excitement. I also spotted Deimos the
other night with a 6" refractor, when Mars was culminating and the
atmosphere cooperating. Unfortunately, although my scope may have been
up to the task, Phobos was nowhere near elongation at the time.

I still have hopes of spotting them both before this apparition is over.

Starry Skies,
Rich

In article ,
Greg Crinklaw wrote:

See http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html for updated tips and
insights into observing the moons of Mars (follow the "Focus On..."
link). Now is the time!

The story of my recent successes:

SNIP_


Nicely done, Greg. I share your excitement. I also spotted Deimos the
other night with a 6" refractor, when Mars was culminating and the
atmosphere cooperating. Unfortunately, although my scope may have been
up to the task, Phobos was nowhere near elongation at the time.

I still have hopes of spotting them both before this apparition is over.

Starry Skies,
Rich

Hi Rich,

Richard DeLuca wrote:
Nicely done, Greg. I share your excitement. I also spotted Deimos the
other night with a 6" refractor, when Mars was culminating and the
atmosphere cooperating. Unfortunately, although my scope may have been
up to the task, Phobos was nowhere near elongation at the time.

I still have hopes of spotting them both before this apparition is over.

Great job seeing Deimos! Keep at it, with a little luck you'll get
Phobos too.

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 Rich,

Richard DeLuca wrote:
Nicely done, Greg. I share your excitement. I also spotted Deimos the
other night with a 6" refractor, when Mars was culminating and the
atmosphere cooperating. Unfortunately, although my scope may have been
up to the task, Phobos was nowhere near elongation at the time.

I still have hopes of spotting them both before this apparition is over.

Great job seeing Deimos! Keep at it, with a little luck you'll get
Phobos too.

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 Martin,

Starstuffed wrote:
Greg wrote:

It's now or never, no matter the size of your scope!

Congratulations, Greg!!
I'm still trying with my 12.5 inch newtonian. . .

Keep trying. I am sure it can be done. All you need is a bit of luck.

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 Martin,

Starstuffed wrote:
Greg wrote:

It's now or never, no matter the size of your scope!

Congratulations, Greg!!
I'm still trying with my 12.5 inch newtonian. . .

Keep trying. I am sure it can be done. All you need is a bit of luck.

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

In article ,
Greg Crinklaw wrote:

Hi Rich,

Richard DeLuca wrote:
Nicely done, Greg. I share your excitement. I also spotted Deimos the
other night with a 6" refractor, when Mars was culminating and the
atmosphere cooperating. Unfortunately, although my scope may have been
up to the task, Phobos was nowhere near elongation at the time.

I still have hopes of spotting them both before this apparition is over.

Great job seeing Deimos! Keep at it, with a little luck you'll get
Phobos too.



Tonight (8/22-23) was the charm- two little indians. This time I knew
precisely where to look, and both arrived at eastern elongation during
my observing run. Unlike the other night (see my post: 'Call me Asaph
Hall') when I spotted Deimos by lucky accident under still and
transparent skies, I really had to work to find them this time. And I
needed the occulting bar, and also could not see them continuously, but
they were both there, for sure. A satisfying feeling.

Hey, I really enjoyed your web pages.

Starry Skies,
Rich

___________________________________________
42? N, 76? W
8/23/03, 03:30- 06:00 UT
Seeing: 5/10
Transparency: 7/10

6" f/9.4 Astro Physics Starfire
5mm Tak LE (287X)

In article ,
Greg Crinklaw wrote:

Hi Rich,

Richard DeLuca wrote:
Nicely done, Greg. I share your excitement. I also spotted Deimos the
other night with a 6" refractor, when Mars was culminating and the
atmosphere cooperating. Unfortunately, although my scope may have been
up to the task, Phobos was nowhere near elongation at the time.

I still have hopes of spotting them both before this apparition is over.

Great job seeing Deimos! Keep at it, with a little luck you'll get
Phobos too.



Tonight (8/22-23) was the charm- two little indians. This time I knew
precisely where to look, and both arrived at eastern elongation during
my observing run. Unlike the other night (see my post: 'Call me Asaph
Hall') when I spotted Deimos by lucky accident under still and
transparent skies, I really had to work to find them this time. And I
needed the occulting bar, and also could not see them continuously, but
they were both there, for sure. A satisfying feeling.

Hey, I really enjoyed your web pages.

Starry Skies,
Rich

___________________________________________
42? N, 76? W
8/23/03, 03:30- 06:00 UT
Seeing: 5/10
Transparency: 7/10

6" f/9.4 Astro Physics Starfire
5mm Tak LE (287X)

Hi Richard,

Richard DeLuca wrote:
Tonight (8/22-23) was the charm- two little indians. This time I knew
precisely where to look, and both arrived at eastern elongation during
my observing run. Unlike the other night (see my post: 'Call me Asaph
Hall') when I spotted Deimos by lucky accident under still and
transparent skies, I really had to work to find them this time. And I
needed the occulting bar, and also could not see them continuously, but
they were both there, for sure. A satisfying feeling.

Isn't it though? I'm still smiling.

You know I read no reports of seeing either moon on these newsgroups
last opposition. There was even some idiot claiming than one had been
knocked out of orbit and as far as I recall nobody was able to stand up
and say, "no way--I just saw them." What a terrific opposition this is.

Congrats Richard!

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