A new release on the MSSS page gives some details about NASA's Mars announcement. Signs of both recent (as in over the course of the mission) cratering and gully activity (caused by liquid water?) on the surface of the red planet.
Continue reading "An Active Planet"
Want to get involved in amateur astronomy, but unsure of where to begin? The RASC (Royal Astronomical Society of Canada) Explore the Universe program is a great place to start, mixing observations of the Moon, the planets, as well as stars and other deep sky objects.
I can think of no better way of celebrating the current close approach of Mars by observing the planet using the 24-inch Clark telescope that Percival Lowell himself used at Lowell Observatory!
Amateur astronomers were the first to notice a growing dust storm on Mars during the current close approach of the planet. The Hubble Space Telescope was used to get some observations of the planet and the storm.
Amateur astronomer Ron Bee has provided this nifty little visual guide. Have an amateur-class telescope? Observing Mars? How much detail can you see? This guide shows you that sometimes the most power does not equal the most detail!
Probably buried in my big post-vacation update was news that Apogee Books has republished the classic by Garrett_P_Serviss...Edison's Conquest of Mars! Serviss was Carl Sagan before there was a Carl Sagan, a popularizer of science. He also wrote science fiction, this being one of his best known works. Like the technothrillers of our day, Serviss included real characters with his fiction. Fun stuff!
This weekend marks the closest Mars will be to the Earth for the next 13 years. You'll still be able to get good views (weather permitting!!!) for the next several weeks, but this weekend will be marked by a lot of events held by various amateur astronomy groups, so watch your local paper!
The work by amateur astronomers has gotten better and better, especially since large telescopes, CCD chips, small computers and other items have become affordable. I've seen shots by "amateurs" that rival anything produced by the "professionals".
Amateur astronomers can contribute a lot to the professionals. Telescope time at the professional level is precious, so you can't, for example, devote a lot of time monitoring changing conditions on a planet. Amateurs can do it and let the "big guns" know when something interesting is up.
I'll post drawings and pictures here that I spot over the next few weeks from the various amateur astronomy lists that I'm on. Some pretty amazing stuff is being produced by these folks!
Here's a drawing by Eric Jamison to get us started. Chris Cook provides this wonderful sequence showing both the rotation of Mars and the dust storm that is being observed. Alan Friedman got some of his shots posted to spaceweather.com.
Continue reading ""Amateur" Mars"
Mars is quite bright in the evening sky. As I've gotten a few questions as to where to look, here's a link to a map at the Sky & Telescope website. That should give you a pointer. Don't expect to see any detail with a pair of binoculars, but even a four to five inch telescope can give you some detail right now (The pictures were taken with a telescope of that size. Many thanks to Ron Bee for providing the shot!).
Mars has undergone a remarkable evolution since the first probe from Earth went sailing past the planet, sending back a few shots. Given what we saw, Mars was declared a dead planet, somewhat like our Moon, not really worthy of our attention.
Continue reading "The Changing Face of Mars"
