Solar&Planetary LtE Now for CMO/ISMO in Jan 2020

Solar & Planetary LtE Now in January 2020

Not every email is necessarily cited in the PDF’s CMO LtE

To see the preceding ones, click

LtE in December 2019

The latest is at the top

¤•••••Subject: Mars, Jan 31 RGB

Received: 1 February 2020 at 06:35 JST

Hi all, some good seeing this morning for a colour image of Mars, lots of blue cloud in the south and some fainter cloud across the mid latitudes.

cheers, Anthony

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200131/AWs31Jan20.png

Link:

http://www.acquerra.com.au/astro/gallery/mars/index.live?dir=/mars&image=20200131-190654

Anthony WESLEY (Rubyvale, QLD, AUSTRALIA)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 31 January 2020 0247UT RGB IR

Received: 31 January 2020 at 16:06 JST

Hi all,

There appears to be equatorial cloud visible on both the preceding and following limbs as well as a small cloud over Olympus Mons lower left of centre. M Sirenum is at upper centre.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200131/CFs31Jan20.png

Best regards, Clyde

Clyde FOSTER (Centurion, SOUTH AFRICA)

¤•••••Subject: Mars, Jan 30 RGB

Received: 31 January 2020 at 08:44 JST

Hi all, here's a colour image of Mars from this morning in reasonable seeing.

cheers, Anthony

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200130/AWs30Jan20.png

Link:
http://www.acquerra.com.au/astro/gallery/mars/index.live?dir=/mars&image=20200130-191412

Anthony WESLEY (Rubyvale, QLD, AUSTRALIA)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 2020/01/29-Kumamori

Received: 30 January 2020 at 17:46 JST

Mars image on 29 January 2020.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200129/Km29Jan20.png

Best Regards,

Teruaki KUMAMORI (Osaka, JAPAN)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 29 January 2020 0307UT RGB IR

Received: 29 January 2020 at 14:33 JST

Hi all,

Image set from this morning, centred on Amazonis. Propontis is quite noticeable at lower centre, with Elysium to its upper right. M Sirenum (left) and M Cimmerium (right) stretch across the upper section of the image. I again think that the south polar hood may be visible at top. Bright afternoon cloud is seen over Olympus Mons just below centre left. From the B and RGB images, the cloud may be blowing off to the south east (upper left). Nice to see the big volcano again after a long break!

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200129/CFs29Jan20.png

Best regards, Clyde

Clyde FOSTER (Centurion, SOUTH AFRICA)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 27 January 2020 0302UT RGB IR

Received: 27 January 2020 at 14:29 JST

Hi all,

Full image set from this morning. Equatorial cloud remains over the sunlit limb at right. I believe there is also cloud at upper right, and tend to agree with a comment by Carlos Hernandez on one of my posts of yesterday that this may be emanating from Hellas. Elysium is the bright spot to the lower right of centre with Propontis I to its lower left. M Cimmerium is above Elysium with the light Hesperia to its right. I believe I may have caught a late afternoon cloud over Olympus Mons, which is rotating into the night (on the left limb) just below centre.

On a positive note, I slewed to Jupiter after this session and managed to get a glimpse of it through branches and leaves. Nothing worth posting, but hopefully won’t be too long before it appears above the tree.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200127/CFs27Jan20.png

Best regards, Clyde

Clyde FOSTER (Centurion, SOUTH AFRICA)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 26 January 2020 0245UT RGB IR

Received: 26 January 2020 at 18:22 JST

Hi all,

A bit of a struggle this morning catching fleeting gaps in between clouds which closed before I could catch any IR data.

There is bright equatorial cloud on the sunlit limb at right, with possibly a small cloud over Elysium (bright spot below the centre). Propontis I is visible to the lower left of Elysium. I cant recall the timeframe offhand, but am wondering if the South Polar Hood may be visible at top?

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200126/CFs26Jan20.png

Best regards, Clyde

Clyde FOSTER (Centurion, SOUTH AFRICA)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 23 January 2020 0301UT RGB IR

Received: 23 January 2020 at 16:17 JST

Hi all,

A full image set this morning, with cloud over Elysium at lower left, Syrtis Major on the right limb with bright Hellas on the upper right limb. M Cimmerium amd M Tyrrehhum are above the centre, separated by the light streak of Hesperia.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200123/CFs23Jan20.png

Best regards, Clyde

Clyde FOSTER (Centurion, SOUTH AFRICA)

¤•••••Subject: Venus animation 20-01-2020

Received: 22 January 2020 at 19:47 JST

Hi All,

A two-frame animation of Venus (742nm) from Monday. Variable seeing all day, these frames were the best (the common 'conveyor belt' disturbance was the problem). Elevation 27deg. Some cloud features near the equator seem fairly well defined.

All the best

Simon KIDD (Cottered, Herts, the UK)

¤•••••Subject: Fwd: Night thoughts of a classical mars observer

Received: 22 January 2020 at 04:14 JST

Dear Reiichi,

Thanks much for the interesting comments about the child who was called “Martian.” It was destiny for him to take up the study of the planet.

I have been having some interesting discussions with Bill Hartmann, who was a member of the Science Team for Mariner 9. We were talking about how though Masatsugu and other amateurs were monitoring atmospheric phenomena such as clouds and dust, but that no one has really done a good study of the variable surface features comparing albedo features at a scale registered on Earthbased maps like those by Mottoni; see here

https://planetarymapping.wordpress.com/2019/06/04/mottonis-albedo-synthesis-maps-of-mars/

and what goes on at a spacecraft-level of resolution as the dark markings change shape. For example, what is going on at a spacecraft-level resolution of the dark streaks that protrude from Syrtis Major or the Lowellian canal-like streaks that extend N from Sinus Meridiani.

I am going to the USGS in Flagstaff tomorrow and hope to see about the feasibility of this project—perhaps something that the ISMO group can take an interest in.

Best, Bill

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

For sure there are nice clouds the Martian sky as observed from Earth by amateurs for >100 years. And it's interesting that Olympus Mons was known as Nix Olympica ("Snows of Olyumpus") ---a bright spot --- until spacecraft and the USGS came along. Is there any science paper you know of that is a review of clouds observed in the Martian sky by landers looking up?

Fun to notice that the 4 Thasus volcanoes show as DARK spots in your figure 3, but reddish brown instead of the usual bluish-grey of Martian dark areas. But I figured out they are dark in contrast to the surrounding clouds, so probably just sticking up through the clouds (as when Mariner 9 arrived during dust storm). So we are left with why volcanics are sometimes light reddish toned (as in Tharsis) and sometimes basaltic grey tones. Presumably mobile light-reddish dust.

What you've sent is mostly about great visual observes and earth based photographers, but what I'm still intrigued by is what I perceive (wrongly?, out-of-touchedly?) as lack of spacecraft literature on what goes on as the dark markings change shape. For example the dark streaks protuding from Sytis Major in your Japanese friend's drawing, or the Lowellian canal-like streak that sometimes extends N from Sinus Meridiani?

I suppose there are enough orbiter photos archived that someone could start investigating these questions by study of Earthbased drawings and photos with contemporaneous orbiter photos. All sorts of details seem to come and go on Mars, but nobody seems to consider that as "science" to be investigated with orbiting cameras (or, as I say does that literature exist and I'm just out of touch?)

Do you credit Robert Richardson's 1950(?) book "Exploring Mars" with recognizing the role of blowing dust. (I think he did it mostly in context of canals). I remember thinking he was way off base when I read it a kid, but it seems as time goes on he was more and more correct.

Cheers,

Guillermo de Tucson

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 1/19/2020 11:17 AM, William Sheehan wrote:

Hi, Bill H,

Pursuant to yours of yesterday, I happened to find this essay I wrote for a (very small circulation) publication of Japanese Mars observers in 2012. It seems relevant. There is a Part II I can send as well if you are intrigued enough to want more!

Best,

Bill S

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill SHEEHAN (Flagstaff, AZ)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 2020/01/18-Kumamori

Received: 19 January 2020 at 10:14 JST

Mars images on 18 January 2020.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200118/Km18Jan20.png

Best Regards,

Teruaki KUMAMORI (Osaka, JAPAN)

¤•••••Subject: Mars, Jan 18 IR and RGB

Received: 19 January 2020 at 09:15 JST

Hi all, here's an image of Mars from this morning in both IR750 longpass
and IR-RGB (using the previous IR image as luminance).
regards, Anthony

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200118/AWs18Jan20.png

Link:
http://www.acquerra.com.au/astro/gallery/mars/index.live?dir=/mars&image=20200118-191854

Anthony WESLEY (Rubyvale, QLD, AUSTRALIA)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 17 January 2020 0310UT RGB IR

Received: 17 January 2020 at 14:34 JST

Hi all,

Mars this morning showing a prominent Syrtis Major and frosty/cloudy Hellas.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200117/CFs17Jan20.png

Best regards, Clyde

Clyde FOSTER (Centurion, SOUTH AFRICA)

¤•••••Subject: RE: More scans

Received: 17 January 2020 at 13:27 JST

Dear Bill,

Yes, indeed! His Mars drawings are superb, position and proportion of the markings are unbelievably accurate, and the meteorological phenomena are unmistakably demonstrated. He must have had an exceptional eye-brain(visual)system, with a super high-performance printer(I mean his right hand and Staedtler Mars Pencils).

He believed that he could recognize EVERYTHING that CCD could capture, with his visual impression of the integrated light Mars image, subtle color nuances, delicate changes of the portions of the albedo markings tell the conditions of the atmosphere over there... .

He often told me “Reiichi, your Mars drawings are natural and beautiful. But always keep in your mind that a drawing itself is no more than a supplement for ample, precise meteorologically minded observation remarks. Analyzers/Recorders can extract nothing from a drawing of Mars with poor notes.”

Do you remember my punning : ARGUS for “Areoholic Reconnaissance Group with Uninterrupted longitudinal coverage of observing Stations” ? Yes he might have been somewhat secretive about his own observations. Now I think he was too busy in serving as a brain of the Earth-Sized Hundred Eyed Giant to include his drawings in the regular CMO reports. It was amazing that after getting seriously ill he had been analyzing the observing data from all over the world like Ironside. I believe he was “observing” with his “eyes”(mostly digital ones:)) distributed along the whole longitude, reprocessing the data with his very special skills acquired through his sheer length of visual observation time. Is it coincidence that most of the Directors/Recorders of the planetary sections of the international amateur-based observing groups are/were/had been experienced visual observers?：Masatsugu Minami, John Rogers(BAA Jupiter Section), Richard McKim(BAA Mars Section), Christophe Pellier(SAF Section Mars), Kuniaki Horikawa(OAA Jupiter Section), Isao Miyazaki(OAA Jupiter section)…. .

Warm Regards,

Reiichi KONNAÏ (Fukushima, JAPAN)

¤•••••Subject: Message from Christmas 2019

Received: 17 January 2020 at 09:57 JST

Everyone,

What a lovely surprise! Though I said no response was necessary, I received literally dozens of responses from you anyway!

It reminded me how lucky we all were to have lived through those special years together, immersed in the exploration of Saturn, and how strong the connections are that we made because of it.

I've decided to resend the message that I wrote to you last Christmas.

Stay tuned because there will be more remembrances like it in the future.

Enjoy!

Carolyn

PS. This email should come to you from cpcomments@ciclops.org. If it doesn't, please continue to use cpcomments@ciclops.org in the future if you wish to communicate with me. Thanks.

==============================================================================

December 25, 2019

Dear Friends of Cassini,

It's been a very long time since I've sent out a message to this Cassini announcement list. Of course, Cassini is now gone but there are still lots of wonderful times to remember and new scientific findings to share.

So, expect to receive announcements into the future ... reminding you of the mission highlights and informing you of what we are continuing to learn about the Saturn system.

And we'll begin with something that happened 15 years ago yesterday, when the European-built Huygens probe was released from Cassini, destined for an historic landing on Titan on January 15, 2005. Our cameras imaged the probe as it left the mother ship. What I've attached here is a composite of the probe image with a previously captured image of Titan.

My 'Preparations for Landing' Captain's Log, dated January 11, 2005, put this event in perspective: bit.ly/2PUcE4Q)

Enjoy once again ... and remember ... life is still good!

Carolyn

==============================================================================

Carolyn PORCO

http://carolynporco.com

¤•••••Subject: More scans

Received: 17 January 2020 at 08:17 JST

Dear Tomoko, Reiichi and Masami

I spent the day at Lowell scanning more pages of the one who had CCD-like eyes.

It is a great adventure for me.

Bill

Bill SHEEHAN (Flagstaff, AZ)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 16 January 2020 0300UT RGB IR

Received: 16 January 2020 at 15:42 JST

Hi all,

Mars image set from this morning. Conditions were not as good as yesterday, although the main features are visible.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200116/CFs16Jan20.png

Best regards, Clyde

Clyde FOSTER (Centurion, SOUTH AFRICA)

¤•••••Subject: RE: Questions from Bill Sheehan

Received: 15 January 2020 at 22:44 JST

Dear Bill,

I believe the digital archive of Dr. Masatsugu Minami’s Mars drawings opened to the public would be of really great value for us Mars students!

For your information I am attaching here the link to the freely opened digital archive of Professor Shotaro Miyamoto’s 1453 Mars drawings spanning from 1956 to 1976 (maybe you are already aware of though…). Professor Miyamoto (1912~1992) served as Director of Kwasan Observatory of Kyoto University from 1958 to 1976 :

http://exhibit.rra.museum.kyoto-u.ac.jp/mars/

Though the archive is in all-Japanese, it’s quite easy to review the drawings :

Click “(火星スケッチをめくる) Turning over the Drawings”on the top page.

Then you can choose to click “(一枚ずつ見る) Review One by One” or

“(連続して見る) Review Continuously”.

When I was checking the tiny dark albedo marking which Dr. Minami named “Oxus Dark Segment”in CMO #423 (25 June 2014), the earliest space probe image record of this small dark patch I noticed was in the MGS MOC (NASA)’s approaching image on 21 August 1997 (earth-based images, even digital ones, were not that good then except those by the capricious HST orbiting just above us). I guessed then the minor dark spot might have been captured by visual observers in the distant past. After an intense searching for a while I found a seemingly promising candidate in the Research Resource Archive, Kyoto University, Professor Miyamoto’s drawing on 10 April 1963. Please refer to my LtE “Optotypes on Mars” in CMO #425, dated 26 July 2014：

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmo/ISMO_LtE425.htm

I think his drawing on 26 January 1963 (No.151) may also be showing the Oxus Dark Segment. Besides ODS, I could have found in this archive a lot of precedent examples of meteorological phenomena once thought to have been uncapturable before CCD imaging revolution.

I can’t wait the completion and the debut of the digital archive of Dr. Minami’s visual Mars observations, I’m sure we’ll have many many to learn from his homogeneous, matured, accurate, beautiful drawings with excellent remarks.

　　With Best Regards,

Reiichi Konnai

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Sheehanw987
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2020 5:30 AM
Subject: Questions from Bill Sheehan

Dear Tomoko,

I hope you are doing well in the New Year.

I have been scanning Masatsugu’s drawings at Lowell and am currently writing an article about his work for the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Could you remind me of when you were married, and when Masatsugu retired.

I am very much enjoying studying his drawings of Mars

Warm regards

Bill

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reiichi KONNAÏ (Fukushima, JAPAN)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 2020/01/13-Kumamori

Received: 15 January 2020 at 18:46 JST

Mars images on 13 January 2020.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200113/Km13Jan20.png

Best regards,

Teruaki KUMAMORI (Osaka, JAPAN)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 15 January 2020 0334UT RGB IR

Received: 15 January 2020 at 15:10 JST

Hi all,

A break in the recent lengthy cloudy period allowed this full image set of Mars this morning, centred on the Arabia region. Syrtis Major and Hellas are at left/upper left respectively, with a dark feature visible in Hellas(G). Sinus Sabeaus and Sinus Meridiani extend across the planet above the centre. The small NPC can be seen at bottom. Large cloud appears to be visible over the Margaritifer /Chryse region at centre right. Nilosyrtis can just be made out in the R image, below Syrtis Major.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200115/CFs15Jan20.png

Best regards, Clyde

Clyde FOSTER (Centurion, SOUTH AFRICA)

¤•••••Subject: Uranus & satellites 2020.01.11

Received: 14 January 2020 at 04:43 JST

Dears,

Cooperative weather for once last Saturday, it's so nice to be again under the starry sky, despite a negative temperature. Seeing was rather good, unfortunately I was ready to launch acquisitions late, so Uranus was already less than 35° elevation.

Nonetheless one can see the bright boreal polar zone, and the 4 brightest satellites:

http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/u2020-01-11_22-08-18_r642_md.jpg

Animation just for the satellites:

http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/u2020-01-11_22-08-18_r642anim_md.gif

Clear skies,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

¤•••••Subject: Mars, 2020/01/10

Received: 12 January 2020 at 11:03 JST

Mars images on 10 January 2020.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200110/Oz10Jan20.png

Best regards,

Kimikazu OZAKI (Aichi, JAPAN)

¤•••••Subject: Mars, Jan 10 IR750

Received: 11 January 2020 at 07:19 JST

Hi all, here's an image of Mars from this morning in reasonable seeing through a 750nm longpass filter. Syrtis Major can be seen rising at left and the bright spot of Elysium is visible at upper right.

regards, Anthony

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200110/AWs10Jan20.png

Link:
http://www.acquerra.com.au/astro/gallery/mars/index.live?dir=/mars&image=20200110-191930

Anthony WESLEY (Rubyvale, QLD, AUSTRALIA)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 2020/01/09-Kumamori

Received: 10 January 2020 at 12:13 JST

Mars images on 9 January 2020.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200109/Km09Jan20.png

Best regards,

Teruaki KUMAMORI (Osaka, JAPAN)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 2020/01/05-Kumamori

Received: 6 January 2020 at 21:09 JST

Mars images on 5 January 2020.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200105/Km05Jan20.png

Best regards,

Teruaki KUMAMORI (Osaka, JAPAN)

¤•••••Subject: Mars 6 January 2020 0339UT RGB IR

Received: 6 January 2020 at 17:26 JST

Hi all,

I am back in action after a wonderful roadtrip to Namibia over the festive season and wishing everyone a very happy New Year.

My first Mars full image set for the 2020 apparition, captured this morning. M Acidalium and Chryse can be seen at lower left. The NPC may just be detected at bottom, and I suspect that a frosted Argyre may be seen at top. There seems to be quite a bit of discrete clouds visible. RGB resized 1.5x. Always a bit of a challenge getting the layout reasonable with Mars still small.

https://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2020/200106/CFs06Jan20.png

Best regards, Clyde

Clyde FOSTER (Centurion, SOUTH AFRICA)