The following is a compendium of sketches from astro.geekjoy.com. For details as to date (and time) of a particular drawing simply right click on the image and view the image properties. (The information is part of the image filenaming protocol.) Text facing the image is the first paragraph of discussion from the associated observation report. A link shows the related report from astro.geekjoy or calls to a threaded discussion on AstroTalk. (AstroTalk is a members only forum requiring a password - registration is all that is needed to become a member.)

Keep in mind as you review the sketches that this was my first full year following a Mars apparition. Earliest drawings are shown first. (So there is a lot of evolution along the way.) Most of the sketches were made through 150mm MCT Argo. (A few through the 80mm Pup.) Due to low sky position, I occasionally removed Argo's diagonal and viewed the planet straight through. (Thus reversals of east and west in some drawings.) Generally, I prefer image scale - so the highest magnification possible was used (up to 540x). When the planet was especially bright (late May through early July), I tended to use filters (typically medium blue for limb haze, polar caps, laci, and medium red for maria.) Later I switched to blue and orange. Finally as the planet approached 10 arc seconds or so filters were abandoned in the quest for more photons!

There is nothing especially scientifically noteworthy about these sketches. They are simply an attempt to give the reader a sense of what was seen through the scope and a chronicle of how the observing eye, and recording hand, improves with time and experience...

	The best Mars oppositions invariably occur when the planet is found in the southern ecliptic. Unfortunately, the resulting sky position places a damper on the fun for those of us north of the tropics. Despite low sky position, and less than ideal overall atmospheric stability, I'm pleased to have even caught the few details you see at (left). Show Report
The drawing at (right) is a composite view of everything seen on Mars around 2:00PDST Saturday morning, May 26, 2001. Each filter in the kit was employed in sequence. Any feature shown by a specific filter was re-inforced. If a particular filter did not reveal a feature, the drawing remained untouched. The resulting composite is a "filtered visual summary overlay". Show Report
	Took Mars-light in the main tube just after peak ascension. Stability, similar to last night. (Exceptional!) Due to nearly matched rotation, nothing really new cycled into view - as expected. (Each night, at the same hour you pick up a about 2.5% more of the eastern globe.) Despite the impending overcast, I did get a short-lived, "high-powered" session with the planet. In cranking up the magnification, I found that, on this occasion at least, Mars responded well. Show Report
Without much further discussion I'm going to simply add this sketch of Mars to the report. Seeing stabilty was less than fair. I was impressed with how much larger the dark region ringing the north pole appeared this evening. The polar cap itself was still there - but much diminished. 350X was not feasible this evening. The darkest regions stood out well - even at 120X. But the drawing was done at 180X using the full range of filters. The view happened around 1:30 am PDST. Some new features are in the offing. What is needed are a few clear nights of steady seeing at least once a week or so. The question is which night will that be? Guess you have to cover them all - despite the hour. Show Report
	Somehow, over the last few evenings, some kind of marvelous change has occured on Mars. Whether through rotation, or general atmospheric clearing, far more in the way of darkly contrasted surface features are now visible (from western time zones). According to MarsPreviewerII, the main change is the ingress of Mare Erythraeum from the west. And Mare Acidalium toward the north. Meanwhile, Mare Sirenum, which dominated the south-central protion of the globe last week, is exiting stage east. All this means that, as shown in the accompanying drawing, far more of the globe is populated by darkly-hewn features. As such this is an exiting time for MarsWatchers living along the Pacific Coast. Now's our chance to look for fine variations in shape and contrast. Especially once we acclimitize our observational sense to Mars-ography. Show Report
As Selene disappeared west (behind the redwood tree), I turned to Mars. The planet just high enough to give a decent view by 1:00 am. Immediately, the two large regions of maria (south and north) caught my attention. 180x not only revealed the maria, but gave a sense of shading. Variations in contrast were seen across the maria. Such variations were not previously seen in earlier sessions. The sky was quite supportive just as new, more dramatic, features entered the scene. All this called for an entirely new approach to sketching. Results of which are seen at right. While sketching, I avoided making any use of the tip of the pencil. With each change in filter, I reinforced what could be seen. Show Report
	Mars was not far from Selene. Are the two in assignation? Is it fair to peek? Why yes, of course, why else would they display so prominently in the sky. It is a cosmic dalience. One played out for human edification and amusement. Show Report
Initially the sky down low was pretty poor. Even as seeing improved (toward midnight) Mars - at best - would barely show me a "focusable" limb. Again, the south polar cap was marginal and could just be detected with the medium green filter. Without a filter, I could just make out Mare Erythraeum (to the south) and Mare Serpentis (west). Medium red made both maria quite obvious - though still indistinct in terms of detail. Again I can only marvel at what has been seen, drawn and imaged by others even well before the 1999 apparition was in full swing.
	By midnight, Mars loomed luminous to the south-southeast. Low sky position caused occasional "fluctuations" in brightness. Through the scope at 180X such fluctuations probably corresponded to times when the planets disk would swell in size and lose definition. Despite this there were moments when the limb would sharpen and the planet revealed distinct macro-level detail. Toward the end of the session, it was even possible to bring out the barlow and inspect the planet at 350X. This proved really useful. I was actually able to make out the break between (the more horizontal) Mare Erythraeum region (to the southeast) and (the vertical) Mare Serpentis area (to the mid-west). Again the south polar cap was much diminished. In fact it held less luminosity (and was visibly smaller than) bright Zen Lacus (on the south-southwest limb). Mare Acidalium (north-northeast) was barely hinted at. It now seems effectively lost to view for this rotation. (It's quite possible that the whole northern region is engulfed in one of Mar's atmospheric flurries however.) Show Report
Time to head for the workout deck. Mars takes center stage. First look - and even at 133X without a filter, I see a thumblike darkening to the northwest. Doesn't seem right for Mare Serpentis. Too large. Too far north. Didn't plan on doing a drawing - but the Pup's showing more than expected. Even at 20 arc-seconds, Mars is small at 133x - but the limb is pretty sharp and contrast is fine. (250X doesn't cut it though.) OK. Grab that pencil - it's sketch time! Thread in the green filter. Polar cap just not happening. Large brightening to the northeast. Another smaller brightening on the eastern limb. Red filter really brings out the northwestern mare. Show Report
	No question about it best view of Mars yet. Thumblike Syrtis Major east of the central meridian. Casius reaching up toward it from he north. Sinus Sabaeus, Mare Serpentis, Noachis to the southwest. Mare Erythraeum just beginning to rotate in from the west. Show Report
Just finished the drawing at right. Mars barely past its peak above the horizon. Local sky stability probably 5/10. Was able to slip in the 2X barlow. Didn't quite cut it at 360X, but 240 was fine and gave more detail than 180X. (180 was used exclusively on the earlier drawing.) This second sketch - like most of them - is an integration of medium green and red filters. Syrtis Major even visible in the green - along with the lighter hollows - especially Zen Lacus south of Syrtis Major. Maria contrast staggering in red. Unlike the gas giants - Mars loves filters. Show Report
	As I understand it, despite the fact that we are now post-oppositional, Earth and Mars continue to converge until the 19th of June. This can only mean that, all things being equal, views will continue to improve for the next week and only then begin to decline. Still there are several more months for Mars-duffers, such as myself, to continue enjoying the apparition. If seeing continues to be as decent as that experienced last night, then it's entirely possible that I'll be able to "publish" my very own, home-brewed map of the planet once the season passes. Show Report v
Of course, Mars was not at peak ascent. About an hour before culmination the inflammation abated - but I was still on the workout deck. Even at 210X, the image was just too wobbly. Spent the next hour trying to track its crazed motion across the field of view. By the time I got close to finishing any sketch - an hour later - everything shifted perceptibly on the planet. I'll post the sketch on the webpage along with this email as yesterday's report. Just figured it was my turn to email you two first for a change. Show Report
	Like last night this drawing was made at 360X. Unlike last night, it developed over a shorter period of time. (This because extended views of the planet were possible with the stabler mount location.) Overall confidence in the result is much higher, even though the two drawings are quite similar. Inspection of Mars using the green and blue filters revealed nothing of consequence - to my inexperienced eye. So I executed the entire drawing with the red filter in place. Show Report
By 11:15, Mars climbed high enough to give consistently stable views. I began sketching. Fifteen minutes later, it was done. The view was very different from that seen Saturday at about this time. For one, visible maria wwere limited to just north of the SPC. The region below that was completely obscure. Only sign of Syrtis Major a vague "island" progressed perhaps a little further west than it should. The northern hemisphere, as a whole, was perceptibly brighter than that of the south. A broad arching line traced away from the northern limb upward to the east. That was it. Show Report
	Forty-two million miles. Divide that by 540 and the number is roughly 78K. That's how close my blurred perception got to another living world. A world moving slowly backward against the stars. This as our own outraces around the solar track. For you see, we have the inside track and live in the "fast lane". Mars concedes to fleet-footed Earth even as together Earth and Mars give way to fleeter Venus and Winged-heal Mercury. Show Report
Later I do a second drawing. I do this because I am curious about whether I'll see Syrtis Major. And I learn that this is so. Because of this I get a better sense of the oblique interactions between Mars rotation and motion around the Sun and that of the Earth. Because I expected to see Syrtis Major at 11:00PM and didn't, there is something wrong with my understanding of all these factors and how they play out. For instance: Show Report
	Mars now 11:00 high. Showing signs of stability. Let's get up close and personal - 540X. Fair and improving view. Soon, my "mars-eyes" begin to yake hold - no filters required. Thin, dark maria running across the northern part of the south temperate region. Tilting off to the north along the western edge of the planet. Not a smooth tilt - almost linear. And to the east another tilt. Fainter, less contrasty. But, look at that! Limb haze. Lot's of it - east and west. And the polar caps, thin white regions of reflective white. On the face of the disk, faint blotches, to both the east and west within the north temperate region. Below this, low contrast maria separating straw-orange mid-latitudes from the brightish north polar cap. Show Report
It has been ten days since last Mars drawing. Lest readers feel I've been remiss in "Mars Questing", I can only defend my reputation by the power of sheer mathematics: "7 days of overcast + 2 days of poor seeing = 9". Show Report
	This sketch, ladies and gentlemen, comes out of as good a view of Mars as I am going to get during this apparition. Local stability (near Mars) had to be 6/10. So much detail hovered on the brink of revelation that, had I seen it - I doubt I would even have made an attempt at a sketch! So close, yet so far. In fact, had the detail been even a bit sharper I would have been tempted to use the tip of the pencil instead of the side. My only regret is the fact that son Eric had the good barlow and I had to make do with the ghastly 350X view through the shorty. (No Eric, I really am glad you took it and the Pup with you on your trip - really!) Show Report
Mars looked best this evening at 180x. Probably because of the overcast. Sky was stable as last - even well before culmination (6/10). There was little worry about getting limb focus - felt no compunction to "tweak" the knob. Good solid image out of the box. Another sign of better than average seeing... Show Report
	Since first use of MarsPreviewerII software, I've been puzzled by the lack of synchronization between map features and whatever happened to be in view at the time. A large part of the initial problem was my personal lack of familiarity with Mars surface features. Another was the programmers default time zone (+3 hours GMT). A third, the stupidity of Daylight Savings Time (everyone just stays up later and consumes power anyway). Fourth, the fact that there is an inherent need to interpolate between sidereal time and the 1 hour time zone increments. Finally, there is the small matter of my own conceptual dyslexia when it comes to adding and subtracting. (Spring forward, Fall back. Add an hour in Spring, take it away in Fall. So if I add one in Spring, GMT must be - what? Minus 1 or plus 1? Did the coder enter his default value as Daylight Savings Time or what?) Show Report
Before turning Argo on Antares, I did take the time to sketch up Mars. In many ways the view was very similar to last nights. Slightly better stability allowed me to get a sense of contrast within northern and southern hemisphere maria. Also detected a fleeting view of Mare Borium to the north. Acidalium also seemed to distinguish itself better from Niliacus Lacus. Little in the way of "limb haze" was seen however. The red filter did show a fairly intense "yellow-ation" on the limb of Mars equator to earth-west. Show Report
	The amazing thing about this drawing is the fact that it bears little resemblence to the various features that should have been visible on the planet at this hour. Is it really possible for an atmospheric dust storm to be so extensive and pervasive that it obliterates the entire mid-section of a planet? For you see there is this huge gap where Mare Erythraeum and Niliacus Lacus ought to be. Show Report
Unlike the previous evening, I did manage to get a sketch of Mars in before clouds rolled in completely. Due to its brilliance, the planet could be seen through the nights veils. Stability was not exceptional - maybe 5/10. The planet's edge would barely come to focus - even at a lowly 180x. In fact, I really didn't "complete" the drawing - but I did rough it in enough to scan it. My main reason for keeping it is to act as a reminder of what a "marginal" view of the planet looks like. It also suggests that the storms of the last few days have not abated... Show Report
	Syrtis Major is back! Sure, local diturbances continue to obscure S. Minor and environs - but S. Major is large and in charge. At north - rimming the pole: Mare Boreum, Uchronia, & Utopia - best views yet!. Why? Because these regions contrasted nicely with a luminous North Polar Cap (NPC). Yes, the NPC (and SPC) are prominent. So for the record: This sketch was done exclusively at 180x. Medium blue and red filters employed. (Syrtis Major was visible direct). Local sky stability at or slightly better than 5/10 -(edge focus achievable). Show Report
Early on - before skydark - I turned Argo on Mars. Drawing at left, the result. Despite decent edge sharpness nothing that stood out consistently in the view. Blue filter brought out both polar caps. The nrothern caps collar was quite present in this light. Red filter showed gradations of albedo across the planets surface. Darkish to earth-east and lightest earth-west. A bright yellow very near the Earth-west limb). Orange and brownish-red elsewhere. Occasionally, S. Major caught my eye to earth-east and dissolved again. Nothing happened with the focus - so I can't account for it. Features opposite S. major were subdued. Hints of S. Minor. Planet's atmosphere is probably still at it - but apparently not always... Show Report
	Despite a fine, stable soouthern sky, there was no "once in an apparition" view last evening. Under blue filter, both polar caps (or their atnmospheric shrouds) were clearly discernable. A bright grin of "limb haze" could be seen - tracing the earth-western limb of the planet from pole to pole. Of the maria, only the dark collar demarking the NPC was obvious. The remainder of the planet definitely in "Maria Obscura" - only vague intimations possible. It was very easy to conclude that the planet resumed its stormy ways. Views at 360 and 540x showed decent edge-focus. The problem was not in our skies - but in those of Mars itself... Show Report
So I looked - and the sketch at left more or less captures what was visible at 10:00 PDST this evening. Stability at the time was so-so (maybe 5/10). Drawing made at the 180X eyepiece. Once finished, made a check at 360X - but seeing stability didn't really support the magnification. Notice west is reversed from Argo's usual presentation. Mar's low sky position does have at least one advantage - the diagonal can be dispensed with (allowing for a "straight through view"). Again not sure how much this improves the image quality - but it can't hurt. (Especially since I collimate the scope without the diagonal.) Show Report
	Mars took me by surprise last night. The "maria obscura" theme seems to have relented somewhat. Whether due to improvements in Mars' atmosphere or in our own, there was a sense of detail that transcended the typical (as of late) polar brightening and smile of limb haze. Though the sketch at left does not map well against corresponding MarsPreviewerII depictions, it is as faithful a presentation as I could make given the low contrast of the planet's surface features. In making the sketch, the best views of the polar caps were seen at 360X (through the blue filter). Maria, however, were more forthcoming at 210X (25mm plus 3X ultrascopic barlow) under red. Show Report
As indicated in the last report, Mars seems to be showing some of its old spunk... No, not a true wake up - but at least some features lying in the planet's equatorial region are now at least possible. Again I am struck by the lack of correspondence between the image in MarsPreviewerII and what I've sketched. Certainly there was nothing particularly "contrasty" in the few hints of maria seen on the planet the last few times but again I've been as faithful as my limited views and drafting skills are capable of... Show Report
	And the Red Planet came across. The sketch (and the view of the planet this evening) seems to suggest Syrtis Major - but this is not the case - at least based on MarsPreviewerII software. By fiddling with parameters, my best match was Time Zone +6 GMT, 19:00 hours, August 4, 2001. As such Mare Erythraeum has progressed Mars-east of the central meridian. It constitutes the bulk of the thumblike projection into the equatorial region. By this reckoning, the brighter region Mars southeast of Erythraeum is Pyrrhae Regio. Mare Boreum can be seen vaguely collaring a diminished North Polar Cap. Niliacus Lacus and Mare Acidalium are suggested beneath Erythraeum (and above Boreum). Eartheast of Erythraeum is a vague linear darkening that terminates in Tithoneus Lacus. Above that, lies the Sinai desert region. Still further south, Solis Lacus is seen and bordered in turn by a vague brightening (Thaumasia) - itself surmounted by a darker Bosporos Gemmatus. Like the North Polar Cap, the SPC was less than dominating. Show Report
Given he superb edge focus achieved last night, the sketch at left should show the entire Mare Erythreum complex above and Acidalium complex below (north). The view should have been simply superb. Dark maria continents arrayed right along the central meridium. Bright Chryse in their midst. But instead last night, Mars closed all the curtains. Limb haze, polar caps, eveything in abeyance - but what an incredibly sharp edge to the planet. And how lovely the luminosity gradient along the gibbous terminator. Show Report
	And this evening's first big surprise was... Mars is back! That's right, ladies and gentlemen. The long wait has been rewarded. Syrtis Major Earthwest. Erythraeum-Acidalium Eartheast. Sinus Sabaeus arching along the south central meridian. Too bad seeing wasn't better (5/10) early on. Limited me to 240X and averted vision for what passed as a definitive view. But quite unmistakably, there is a break in the action on The Red Planet. Care to bet how long it lasts? Show Report
That first 180x look at the Red Planet proved that - despite inability to achieve focus and perceptible atmospheric boiling - the Martian atmospheric situation has completely changed. No more maria obscura. Syrtis Major just hung there - squarely approaching the planets central meridian. The NPC displayed some - but not extensive - limb haze. Switching over to a 240x Kellner/1.33x barlow combination improved image scale noticeably. Adding filters highlighted several brightenings visible on the planet's surface - in particular a strangely divided Zen Lacus just beneath the SPC. Show Report
	Rambling on (and speaking of Mars), the seeing was so good - just had to do a drawing (despite the relatively structure-free presentation of the Red Planet at the time). Sketch was made at 360X (10mm with 2x configured barlow in straight-through viewing mode). Limb haze apparent at North Polar Cap. Little of either cap visible. No laci detected. Just that vague swatch of Mare Sirenum-Cimmerium beneath the south pole. Planet is at 13 arc-seconds apparent size now. Magnitudinally well below -1. Still a great way to start an observing session... Show Report
As said, not a whole lot to write home about. Hints of Mare Sirenum southeast. Mare Boreum collaring north polar cap at northwest. Some southwestern limb haze. Both polar caps much diminished. Drawing done without diagonal and at 360x (10mm with 2X barlow configuration.) Used both the medium red and blues filters. Show Report
	I knew the night held promise when first setting focus on Mars limb. But at 210X, with the planet just going sub-12 arc-seconds, image scale was quite poor. Noticed a thick darkening at the center of the Red Planet's gibbous disk. Had seen it before - knew it for the contrast illusion it was. For you see, given the date and time there really was nothing dark hanging on the planets central meridian. Now to earthwest is another story. Mare Erythraeum to south and Niliacus Lacus to north should be rotating towards the planet's brightly lit limb. Show Report
This last opposition (Summer 2001) was a real challenge for northern hemisphere observers. Although the planet got within some 42 million miles, exceeded magnitude -2.2 and swelled to some 24 arc-seconds in apparent size (half that of Jupiter) anyone observing from much further north than Florida or Texas was bound to be disappointed due to low sky position. Show Thread
	By 6:00 o'clock things were dark enough to catch a first magnitude, 5.5 arc second sized Red Planet high to the southwest. Even at 210x, the planet was incredibly small. In fact, less than twice the apparent size of 3.3 arc second Uranus! Unlike Uranus though, Mars gets plenty of light. And that light is reflected in various interesting ways - all depending on the albedo of surface features over large swaths of the planet. Dark maria, though lacking precise definition, will reflect less light. Meanwhile, bright laci do the opposite. Throw in some super bright polar caps, a little electric blue limb haze, add some high deserts and there you go - a "sense" of surface detail. And that's what the image at left pretty much captures - the subtle play of the bright against the not so bright, and the luminous against the obscure. Show Report

to: top of page

to: Sketch Gallery Page

to: Astro.Geekjoy Home Page

Email: Astro.Geekjoy