2005 Drawings of Mars by Bob BungeDrawing of the planet Mars made during the 2005 close approach. Drawing made with home made telescopes.20050928, 08:15 UT, CM=268 Bowie MD, 17-inch f7.8 reflector 260480x- September 28, 2005 Seeing 9 out of 10. Very cool, moderate to heavy dew. 55F. Still, no wind. Really nice view! Best view at 480x this season. Very small south polar cap. At 480x, a slight, white brightening was seen just west of the SPC. Wonderful view of Syrtis Major and many dark and lighter areas in it. Hellas was light, but surprisingly showed no floor detail, yet was not all that much brighter in the 47W (blue) or 25W (red) filters. Nodus Alcyonius, the small dark marking north and west of Syrtis..http://ladyandtramp.com/weblog/channels/mars_2005/images/2005-09-28-rdb.jpg 20050923, 08:20 UT, CM=335 Bowie MD, 17-inch f7.8 reflector 260480x- September 23, 2005 Seeing 8 out of 10. Warm, 70F. Thin high clouds, partial ring around the Moon during ob. The Mid-Atlantic US is now officially in a moderate drought condition. Certainly been good for Mars observing! With Syrtis Major coming into view, we have a classic view of Mars. The Hellas region showed detail too complex to draw, with bright banding in the northern parts, and darker details and eastwest stripes in the southern section. At this CM, the North Polar Hood is still bright, but not as...http://ladyandtramp.com/weblog/channels/mars_2005/images/2005-09-23-rdb.jpg 20050921, 08:15 UT, CM=333 Bowie MD, 17-inch f7.8 reflector 260- September 21, 2005 Seeing 7 out of 10. Cool, 66F, quite clear, very bright Moon not far from Mars. Seeing wasn't the best, had to wait long periods for the moment finer detail. Bright area over Hellas was very bright in a 25W (red) filter. It was quite striking. North Polar Hood was also bright with a 47W filter.http://ladyandtramp.com/weblog/channels/mars_2005/images/2005-09-21-rdb.jpg 20050919, 08:30 UT, CM=355 Bowie MD, 17-inch f7.8 reflector 260480x- September 19, 2005 Seeing 9 out of 10. Cool, 63F, quite clear, no clouds, slight hint of haze around an almost full Moon. Very bright, could almost draw without the aid of a flashlight. An extremely good view, very steady seeing, an amazing amount of detail on the surface. South polar cap was bright and very easy to see, even with the small size. More detail then I've seen this year in Sinus Meridani and Sabaeus. Hellas on the preceding (P) terminator appeared bright and even bulged a bit into the shadow. ..http://ladyandtramp.com/weblog/channels/mars_2005/images/2005-09-19-rdb.jpg 20050912, 08:20 UT, CM=58 Bowie MD, 17-inch f7.8 reflector 260480x- September 12, 2005 Seeing 8 out of 10. Very cool (55F), heavy dew. No wind, pretty good transparency. Perhaps best view and most detailed drawing of the Solis Lacus region in 2005. Apparent North Polar Hood, seen in both 25W (red) and 47W (blue) filters. Following limb brightness best seen in white light and with the 47W filter.http://ladyandtramp.com/weblog/channels/mars_2005/images/2005-09-12-rdb.jpg 20050909, 05:20 UT, CM=42 Tuckahoe State Park MD, 17-inch f7.8 reflector 260480x- September 10, 2005 Seeing 5 out of 10. At Tuckahoe State Park. Found three faint Arp galaxies, did some slumming of bright objects and looked at IC 1296 near M-57 for the first time in several years tonight. Seeing started bad, only got better 30 before this ob. Plenty of detail in Mare Erythraeum. Niliacus Lacus to the north was faint, but there. Possible north polar hood visible in both 25W (red) and 47W (blue) filters, but larger in red, sort of backwards of what you'd expect. Perhaps more dust there...http://ladyandtramp.com/weblog/channels/mars_2005/images/2005-09-09-rdb.jpg 20050908, 08:30 UT, CM=98 Bowie MD, 17-inch f7.8 reflector 260480x- September 8, 2005 Seeing 9 out of 10. Very cool, 55F. Moderate to heavy dew. Extremely clear and very good transparency. During moments of very stable seeing, much detail was seen... approaching the level of too much to draw, specially around Solis Lacus and the Aonius Sinus regions. While faint, the dark marking in the southern hemisphere were very detailed with the 25W (red) filter. While the center of Solis Lacus was the darkest area on the planet, Mare Sirnum on the following limb was a close 2nd. A...http://ladyandtramp.com/weblog/channels/mars_2005/images/2005-09-08-rdb.jpg 20050904, 07:20 UT, CM=118 Bowie MD, 17-inch f7.8 reflector 260x- September 4, 2005 Seeing 5 out of 10. Cool, 65F, slight breeze, dry, partly cloud - not hazy. Poor seeing, difficult observation. Detail almost completely washed out except in 25W (red) filter. Even then, much loss of detail and bright limb glare. But Solas Lacus was viewed a darkest area, near the terminator, merging with Mare Sirenum towards the following limb. In moments of better seeing, a slight darkening was seen in the north, near Olympus Mons.http://ladyandtramp.com/weblog/channels/mars_2005/images/2005-09-04-rdb.jpg 20050902, 08:15 UT, CM=150 Bowie MD, 17-inch f7.8 reflector 260480x- September 2, 2005 Seeing 8 out of 10. Cool, 64F, damp, 88% RH. Good amount of dew. Small south polar cap. Good detail the Mare Chronium area. Mare Sirenum was dark with plenty of detail and texture. North Polar Cap was difficult to make out and was only slightly visible with a 47W(blue) filter. Faint, but visible dark area not far from terminator in about the right place for Olympus Mons.http://ladyandtramp.com/weblog/channels/mars_2005/images/2005-09-02-rdb.jpg |
