Mars is back, red planet now visible from Earth

Right then,

Was out freezing the thingies off earlier attempting to observe Mars. The Red Planet you may remember was big news in 2003 when it was at its closest in decades. This time it is close again but not quite as close as last time. It was during the hype that I bought my telescope, a computer driven one from FotoVideo Sauter in Sendlinger Tor - have had so much fun with it.

The snow, rain and cloud have simply made me begin to wonder if the stars have gone somewhere else, it is so long since I have seen them. I spent a year seeking all the objects out of our Solar System and logging them in a book and also in a blog. This time I am making a study of planets and the moon.

So I quickly grabbed the scope midnight after lusting after Megan McCormick on Travel channel and had a look up. I learned that you have to put your scope out for an hour before you decide to observe. Otherwise the heat currents make ripples inside the scope tube and you see diddly squat as the Amis say. I have learned that you can see the ice caps on Mars in my scope but you have to wait a while to let the image "settle". More to this lark than meets the eye!

Well Mars is in Gemini and approaches Earth at its closest on december 24th. Great bloody timing as I will be full of salmon, lobster, caviar and Proseko by then (well maybe not the lobster or the caviar) and not the worlds most communicative person. 22nd or 23rd it will be we hope.

I wanted to show you all where it is but sod it if you want to look download www.stellarium.org. It's there and easy to spot. You figure it out.

Right, after being outside I need more Glühwein to warm myself up.

Yes, I've noticed Mars putting on a good show lately. Back in 2003, when it was at its brightest for I-don't-remember-how-long - thousands of years? - I went along with some people to the Bavarian public observatory (Bayerische Volkssternwarte) in Munich to have a look at it through their telescope, but it wasn't as impressive as I'd hoped - we could make out one polar cap, but apart from that it was just a small featureless pink disc.

For anyone looking for it, it's fairly easy to spot in the eastern sky in the evening. You can tell it's not a star cos it's brighter than the stars and doesn't twinkle, and it looks a bit pink.

You can always see a bit of snow on the top of it on the run up to Christmas.
Mars

Madam, this forum is also frequented by minors. Chasten your remarks please.

Garibaldi, don't worry. All you can see in a small telescope is just a pink round thing with a white blob on top. You need a much more powerful scope to reveal things like ridges and crevices, and kiddies aren't allowed to play with those.

OOooohhh, how you make me blush Madam.

Oops, just re-read what I wrote. What I meant was, kiddies aren't allowed to play with those telescopes, not ... oh well, never mind.

Can you please take this to adult chat or do I have to report you to a mediator?

Nice picture of Mars, taken at the French Pic du Midi observatory, in today's Astronomy Picture Of the Day.


According to the text in the above link, Dec 24th is the date when Mars will be in opposition to the Sun. However,

It's OK Sin. We have now agreed that it changes from pink to red and then screaming purple when it's at its zenith. It's all due to the hazy heat surrounding it we believe.
All I can say in defence is that we didn't planet.

May one groan now?

No, only while the heat's being taken off.

Well I went out a few nights ago and I must say in my supposedly super scope Mars is nothing more than an orange disk. Even when I left it our for an hour to cool down I saw bugger all.

"Move along there's nothing to see".

Of all the planets I think Saturn has to be the best. Saw what's known as the Cassini Division last time, a gap between the inner and outer rings. Bugger Mars this time. I admit defeat.