Well, I made it out of bed at 2am again this morning. Seeing was 5/10 in
the 5" refractor measured on a mag 4 star near Mars (persistent Airy disc at
207x with flickering first diffraction ring). The S Polar cap was less
detailed (edge smoother and more regular but dark collar still visible) than
my last view a couple of days ago probably due to the poorer seeing but
strangely the planetary surface detail was improved. Using Grafton's image
(http://www.ghg.net/egrafton/m8-01-03.jpg) posted earlier by Tom P as a
reference, I was able to see all of the detail in the "red" image with ease,
of course that view has rotated somewhat in the past 2 days. These great
views were not constant but momentary when the air settled for a few seconds
at a time. I saw more consistent detail using 207x but the best images were
at 288x when those moments of clarity popped into view.
I don't have enough experience to be sure but it seems that seeing
conditions are better after midnight here in FH. I usually observe from
dusk until maybe 10pm, leave the scope outside and come back out around 4am.
Seeing is generally best right as it gets dark during the hot months and
again just as it gets light. But I may have been missing the best hot
weather seeing based on my last 2 Mars sessions from about 2am - 4am.
Regards
Bill Wood
Fountain Hills, AZ
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