Saturday, January 7, 2023

Mars on 01/05/2023

Imaging conditions were poor tonight, with Mars scintillating as if under rapidly rippling water. This image is the best I could manage. It's the best 30% of 20,000 images captured at 47 fps with the Skyraider SLP camera. Mars' angular diameter is currently just 14 arcseconds and the gibbous phase of the planet is clearly visible. The dominant feature at the center of the disk is the triangular Syrtis Major. Syrtis Major was captured in the first sketch of Mars by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens in 1659.



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16 hour integration of the Heart Nebula with the Dwarf 3 telescope

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