Solar & Planetary LtE Now in February 2024

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¤••••• Subject : Mars 28 February 0438UT  RGB IR    

Received: 28 February 2024, 16:40 JST

 

Hi all,

A rather rushed, brief, session this morning as cloud moved in. (It prevented any Venus imaging.)

M Cimmerium, Hesperia and M Tyrrrhenum extend across the planet above centre, with Syrtis Major at lower right, and Hellas at upper right. Elysium is coming into view at lower left, although no detail visible as yet.

 


 

I believe there may be some light cloud/hazes in the north(bottom). There is a light spot in central S Major in the IR, which may be an indication of some dust, but it isn’t as obvious in the R , and at this size and resolution, its difficult to say for sure.

 

Best regards, Clyde

 

Clyde FOSTER (Khomas, NAMIBIA)

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject : Mars 27 February 0439UT  RGB IR    

Received: 28 February 2024, 00:45 JST

 

Hi all,

I only had time for a brief session this morning, and the seeing conditions were the worst I have seen for a while, so this is yet another tribute to AS4! for pulling at least something out of the turbulent, dynamic blob I saw on screen.

 


 

There was only one usable IR and R. Syrtis Major is at lower right.

 

Best regards, Clyde

 

Clyde FOSTER (Khomas, NAMIBIA)

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject : Re: 26 February 0434UT  RGB IR      

Received: 26 February 2024, 20:20 JST

 

Yes, it appears to be very thin cloud in the north.

It's hard to make such haze show in a composite image.

 Thanks for sharing, Clyde.

-- Roger

 

Roger VENABLE (Chester, GA )

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject : Mars 26 February 0434UT  RGB IR    

Received: 26 February 2024, 18:08 JST

 

Hi all,

I had quite a lengthy session on Mars this morning, which is now above Venus in the morning sky. However, I had to reject a lot of data until conditions improved towards sunrise.

 


 

Syrtis Major is well seen at lower right, with Hellas barely distinguishable above it. M Tyrrhenum and Syrtis Minor are to the upper left of centre, with Tritenis S,  the sharp tip of M Cimmerium, visible near the left limb. I believe there may be a large bank of cloud in the north, best seen in the G and B, possibly extending close to the Perseverance Rover region.

Unfortunately I was not able to bring it out in the RGB, despite using a G produced from the R and B ( a technique recommended by Damian Peach- my failure, not his!).

 

Best regards, Clyde

 

Clyde FOSTER (Khomas, NAMIBIA)

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Jupiter 2024-02-24 UT

Received: 25 February 2024, 18:11 JST

 

Jupiters images on 24 February 2024.

 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Mars 2024-02-24 UT

Received: 25 February 2024, 15:24 JST

 

Mars images on 24 February 2024.

 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Venus 2024-02-24 UT

Received: 25 February 2024, 15:22 JST

 

Venus images on 24 February 2024.

 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Jupiter 2024-02-22 UT

Received: 23 February 2024, 13:45 JST

 

Jupiter images on 22 February 2024.

 


 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

 

 

*                  After a few mornings of cloud, it was nice to see Venus and Mars beautifully, and closely, aligned in the predawn sky this morning. Although Mars was at 20 deg altitude, the conditions were not bad, and gave me my best view so far this year.

Syrtis Major is prominent at lower left, with S Sabeaus and S Meridiani extending to the right of centre. Maybe a hint of Osidiris extending off the left side of Syrtis Major in  the R.

Hellas is to the upper left and appears to be clear of any significant cloud and ice, although the R and G do show some lightening in the far south (not sure, but could be processing artefact).

But nice to see a familiar face again!

 


 

Best regards, Clyde

 

Clyde FOSTER (Khomas, NAMIBIA)

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Venus 2024-02-19 UT                        

Received: 20 February 2024, 12:56 JST

 

Venus images on 19 February 2024.

 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Mars 2024-02-19 UT                         

Received: 20 February 2024, 12:55 JST

 

Mars image on 19 February 2024.

 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject : Mars 19 February 0426UT  RGB IR    

Received: 19 February 2024, 18:52 JST

 

Hi all,

Another attempt at a small Mars before sunrise this morning.

S Meridiani and Sabeaus extend across the centre of the planet. Syrtis Major is  visible on the lower left limb.

Hellas is in view at upper left, and seems to be clear of any obvious cloud.

The bright Arabia region is at lower centre.

 


 

I would put the slight reddish tinge in the SPC down to processing artefact- it would be difficult to make any absolute conclusions on subtle details at this size.

 

Best regards, Clyde

 

Clyde FOSTER (Khomas, NAMIBIA)

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject : Mars 17 February 0422UT L(R/IR) RGB   

Received: 17 February 2024, 22:03 JST

 

Hi all,

I tried Mars before sunrise this morning in an attempt to get better contrast on the G and B captures. Altitude climbed from 16 deg to 23 deg during the session, and seeing was rather poor.

The R data was disappointing, and I eventually combined some of the better R and IR data to produce an L(R/IR) RGB final image. Challenging imaging and processing sessions!

 


 

Sinus Meridiani is at the centre of the image with S Sabeaus rxtending to the left. M Erythraeum is towards the upper right. The bright Arabia region is at lower left.

 

Best regards, Clyde

 

Clyde FOSTER (Khomas, NAMIBIA)

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Mars 2024-02-16 UT                         

Received: 17 February 2024, 16:49 JST

 

Mars image on 16 February 2024.

 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject : Mars 15 February 0510UT RGB IR685

Received: 15 February 2024, 18:26 JST

 

Hi all,

I made another attempt at a full image set this morning, half an hour after sunrise. The B and G were very low contrast on screen, making focus a challenge and I used the single best B, which is very poor. But the R and IR do show some indication of Sinus Sabeaus and Sinus Meridiani towards centre left with M Erythraeum extending across the upper section of the planet. There is also some indication of Niliacus Lacus, with the Indus extension, M Acidalium at lower centre, and Aurorae Sinus towards centre right.

 


 

Best regards, Clyde

 

Clyde FOSTER (Khomas, NAMIBIA)

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Jupiter 2024-02-10 UT                      

Received: 11 February 2024, 11:14 JST

 

Jupiter image on 10 February 2024.

 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Venus 2024-02-09 UT                        

Received: 10 February 2024, 08:59 JST

 

Venus UV image on 9 February 2024.

 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Jupiter 2024-02-09 UT                      

Received: 10 February 2024, 08:36 JST

 

Jupiter images on 9 February 2024.

 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject : Re: Mars 8 February RGB IR 0510UT 

Received: 8 February 2024, 23:59 JST

 

Many thanks for this, Clyde. Good image.

 

By imaging in IR in the mornings after sunrise, you are using the method that the ALPO Mercury section has found to be the best way to image Mercury. Sure enough, it is working for Mars also! By the way, notice that the limb ring is wider in IR than in red. This is consistent with its diffraction nature. One can estimate the aperture of an observer's telescope by knowing the wavelength and the width of this ring.

 

This is a dry time on Mars. It's unlikely that we'll see cloud phenomena other than the polar hoods. However, the Arsia elongated cloud may be visible in a month or two, but it will be a challenge to detect it while Mars subtends such a small diameter.

 

-- Roger

 

Roger VENABLE (Chester, GA )

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject : Mars 8 February RGB IR 0510UT       

Received: 8 February 2024, 18:05 JST

 

Hi all,

A first attempt at a full Mars image set of the apparition, half an hour after sunrise.

Needless to say the G and the B captures were challenging, with best resolution in the R.

Solis Lacus is at upper left, with the Valles Marineris complex extending to the centre left.

The south polar region shows best in the R.

 


 

Best regards, Clyde

 

Clyde FOSTER (Khomas, NAMIBIA)

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Mars 5 February 0500UT IR685         

Received: 7 February 2024, 14:24 JST

 

Hi all,

Mars IR685 from two mornings ago. As per WJ simulation, the Solis Lacus region is at upper left and the Valles Marineris region at centre left. 4.1" in bright sky conditions. South Polar region at top shows as bright. I was able to tighten up collimation with an evening session last week and pre-focussing using the IR685 on Venus before hunting for Mars also assisted.

 


 

Best regards, Clyde

 

( lightning took out our internet on the farm over the weekend, so doing everything on mobile, which is a bit of a pain. Hopefully get back on line soon)

 

Clyde FOSTER (Khomas, NAMIBIA)

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Jupiter 2024-02-05 UT                      

Received: 6 February 2024, 11:11 JST

 

Jupiter images on 5 February 2024.

 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

 

 

¤••••• Subject: Jupiter 2024-02-02 UT                      

Received: 2 February 2024, 23:12 JST

 

Jupiter images on 2 February 2024.

 


 

Best regards,

 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, PHLIPPINES)

Cebu Observatory

 

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