FreeLists / az-observing / [AZ-Observing] Morning meeting with Mars....

["Thad Robosson" <starstarcracker@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hey All, 
Well, the 4th of July weekend has afforded me a chance to get up early and take 
a loooong peek at Mars.  Getting up at 3:45, I had an hour's worth of eyeball 
time.  Seeing was just OK, maybe a 6~7, with 240x being an exercise in patience 
to see details.  The first and most notable feature was the South Polar Cap.  
Very distinct, and the border it shared with the rest of the planet was crisp 
and distinct.  The second most notable was the large flying "seagull" or 
"checkmark" shaped feature (sorry I have to look it up...) that stretched the 
width of the ball.  The NE portion of this feature was notably darker.  On the 
S side, up against the frost line, was subtly lighter and darker shades with a 
very subtle depression about 1/3 the way from the E side.  Terminator was 
present to the west, as evident from the "squashed" shape.  

This was my first long look at Mars, and while I can't say that I'm a planetary 
nut, I will be spending a few hours this summer checking it out more.

Now, out to trim the trees before that nasty sun gets too high up....

Thad

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