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Mars (Planet, est. mag -2.7, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 90-mm refractor Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: light Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Sat Aug 16 03:15:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 860
This evening, after I returned home from the salt mines, my friend, Joe Cseh, called me up to go over his house to observe Mars. We put his 7.4 mm teleview eyepiece into his refractor. The darkest land feature we saw was Mare Sirenium, which is located near the shrinking south polar cap. The polar hood covering the north pole is still there. I thought the polar hood had a blue tinge to it but Joe said it looked only white to him. After we traded insults about each others eyesight, we both observed what looked like a pencil line right along the south polar cap. This may or may not be a mountain range that is supposed to be located there. The limb haze is still only on the morning side of Mars as far as I can tell.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2.7, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Sat Aug 16 02:45:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 862
Maura Smith and I had some great views of Mars from the Naylor Observatory. We used a variety of filters (an Orion SkyGlow filter, an Orion variable polarizing filter, a neutral density filter, and Wratten #21, 23, 30, and 80A color filters) sometimes stacked (the SkyGlow and Wratten #30 was a great combination), and 3 aperture masks of various diameters (6, 10, and 14 inches). Magnifications of 202, 231, 249, and 259x were employed. We captured a few good afocal photos of Mars with Maura's Sony digital camera as well. During the session the CM advanced from 116 degrees to 164. The Eye of Mars (Solis Lacus) was visible as was Mare Sirenum and some morning limb clouds.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2.7, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Light pollution: severe Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Aug 15 03:10:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 858
On Thurday night my significant other and I did a little sidewalk astronomy for some of her neighbors using her 6" f/8 Orion XT6, 8-24mm Tele Vue zoom eyepiece, 2x Orion Shorty Barlow lens, and my 8mm Tele Vue Radian. No color filters were used. Mars looked surprisingly good through the little Dob at magnifications up to 304x. Mare Sirenum and other surface features were prominently displayed. Folks were excited when Maura explained what the SPC was. We also spent some time showing the waning gibbous Moon to the onlookers.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2.6, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Thu Aug 14 04:05:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 856
After two weeks of cloudy skies, I was finally able to observe Mars at 200X. Dark features are now easily seen were the south polar cap is melting. There is a mountain range along the area were the south polar cap is melting and I am assuming the melt line I see is the mountain range. The polar hood over the north polar region is now an aqua blue color. The polar hood connects with the limb haze on the morning side of Mars. The land features on mars were readily visable.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2.6, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-cm equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: poor Seeing: good
Time: Tue Aug 12 03:05:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 857
After the August ASH meeting a few members stayed to observe Mars using the 17" f/17 classical Cassegrain at 218 and 324x with Wratten #21 and #30 filters. Mare Sirenum and the shrinking SPC were prominent.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2.6, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-cm equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: poor Seeing: good
Time: Mon Aug 11 04:25:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 855
After a well-attended public observing session at the Naylor Observatory - see http://www.astrohbg.org - came to an end a few of us stayed to observe Mars with our 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain. The weather had been mostly poor earlier in the evening and hadn't improved much in the meantime but Mars was nicely visible nevertheless through occasional thin clouds. The seeing was rather good for the most part, perhaps in partial compensation by the weather gods for the poor transparency. We were able to view Mars until a bit after 05:20 UT when the presence of lightning in the distance suggested that closing the dome might be a wise decision.At 04:25 UT the CM was 199 degrees. The SPC was noticeably smaller than the last time I had seen it (2003/7/31 UT). Mare Sirenum, Mare Cimmerium, Hesperia, and a trace of Mare Tyrrhenum I believe collectively resembled a wishbone spanning the planet, running horizontally across the field of view. A bright Hellas was apparently making it presence known on the following (eastern) limb.Magnifications of 231, 249, 259, 324, and 404x were used along with a number of color filters including Wratten #21, #25, #30, and #80A.
Mars (Planet)
Observer: Paul (e-mail: paul_ohstbucks@msn.com)
Instrument: 16-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Kansas City, MO, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Aug 2 08:00:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 852
Seeing last night was unbelievable!! We were able to use 600x with good results on mars last night. Definitely my best view ever. I know nothing about mars, but the polar cap was sharply defined. There was an obvious dark formation visible that I could only best describe as looking like a pair of bikini bottoms as seen through my dob. The guys I was observing with got a good laugh at my description, but it was true. I guess that was what made it so funny. I couldnt think of a better description. What in the world formation looks like that?
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2.3, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Thu Jul 31 05:30:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 850
This morning, I observed Mars at 200X. With the south polar cap contining to shrink, I am now able to observe melt lines at the south polar ice cap. The melt lines were fairly easy to see. I also noticed the morning side limb haze has diminished a lot. Syrtis Major still has a slight bluish tinge to it. Finally, the polar hood at the north pole is still in place.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2.3, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 14.5-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Mifflin, Pennsylvania, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed Jul 30 07:10:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 853
Tony Donnangelo and I observed Mars at magnifications up to 700x with his 14.5" Starmaster Sky Tracker Dob using his homemade apodizing mask and various filters. Both the seeing and transparency were excellent (perhaps the best we've experienced during this rather dismal year for observing) at the Longfellow Road dark site in Pennsylvania's Tuscarora State Forrest. The Pipe (Sinus Sabaeus and Sinus Meridiani) was quite a sight as were Hellas, Syrtis Major, and the retreating SPC. My Tele Vue Genesis sdf refractor was also employed to view the Red Planet but at considerably lower magnifications.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2.2, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Wed Jul 30 05:30:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 849
This morning, I observed Mars at 200X. It looks like the dust has settled down. Syrtis Major showed up quite well. In fact it had a slight bluish tinge to it. The south polar cap is still sharp and clear to see, even as it continues to shrink. The limb haze on the morning side of Mars is very pronounced and it extends all the way to the north polar hood, which is now fairly easy to see. Now for the bad news. Another Mars observer of ALPO reports that a new dust storm has started. He thinks it could possibly engulf the planet in a few days. I will take another look tonight.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -1.9, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Sun Jul 20 06:45:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 844
This morning, I observed Mars at both 133X and 200X. The south polar cap is still shrinking, but it is still very obvious. I think the the north polar region is developing a polar hood. It seems greyish in color. I was able to see some land features through the still dusty atmoshere. The darker areas on Mars still look fuzzy. I also observed Uranus at 200X. This time it looked more like a little orb rather than a disc.
Mars (Planet)
Observer: Alec Henderson (e-mail: alechenderson@sbcglobal.net)
Instrument: equatorial reflector Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: excellent
Time: Thu Jul 17 08:33:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 838
I have never seen anything like this. From my deck just north east of los angeles downtown. The moon is up bright and,, true to form, wahing out all astronomical phenomenon anywhere near it. Except for this extremely bright anomolous star or planet-like object. I confirmed with wife as guard against insanity. What am I seeing? Please...I just said mars because the database wont take unknown planet or star or just question mark.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -1.7, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Tue Jul 15 06:30:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 836
I observed Mars at both 133X and 200X. This dust storm on Mars is really making it hard to see any land features. However, I thought I saw some orange tone on some areas of Mars. Hopefully, This is a sign of the dust storm starting to abate. I did observe some brightening at the north pole. I could not tell if it was the northern ice cap beginning to grow, a developing polar hood or maybe just a collection of clouds at the north pole. The south polar ice cap continues to shrink, but it still stands out nicely. The limb haze was also more pronounced.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -1.5, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Wed Jul 9 07:00:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 833
I was able to observe mars at 200X. The Martian dust storm continues. I am continuing to have a hard time seeing land features on Mars. Although the dust storm itself is not a global storm, I still believe dust itself is spreading out and hurting our view of Mars. The south pole is still shrinking and Mars doesn't appear to be gibbous any more. With the naked eye and binoculars, Mars looks bright yellow with no orange tinge. This also is a sign of wide spread dust in the atmosphere.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -1.2, est. to be in Capricornus)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Sat Jul 5 06:50:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 827
This morning, I was able to observe Mars at 200X. The hazy sky allowed for some very steady skies. The dust storm on Mars continues. So far, I can see land features on Mars fairly well. This storm does not seem to be nearly as bad as the dust storm of Two years ago. According to other ALPO observers, the dust storm started in the Hellas basin. Right now, Mars looks yellow to the naked eye. This means the dust is fairly wide spread. I still have hopes the dust storm will fade away fairly soon. The dust has not affected the view of the south polar cap and the limb haze remains in view.Mars is still about 95% gibbous.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -1.4, est. to be in Capricornus)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Wed Jul 2 06:30:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 826
This morning, I observed Mars at 133X. Today the martian land features were very fuzzy looking. It appears that dust is getting into the martian atmosphere. Many other ALPO members are reporting the same thing. If a global dust storm does form, it will probably last a couple of months. We must all start chanting Dust dust go away. Come again some other day. So far the south polar cap is still standing out clearly, although the slow shrinking is continuing.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -1.3, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 14.5-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Hazelton, West Virginia, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: fair
Time: Wed Jun 25 08:00:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 825
Last week I traveled to the mountains of West Virginia to attend the Laurel Highlands Star Cruise (see http://www.lhstarcruise.org/ for further information). While there I observed Mars on several mornings through two 14.5" Starmaster Sky Tracker Dobs equipped with Zambuto mirrors. The use of an apodizing mask, Wratten #21 filters, and magnifications as high as 520x produced some stunning views. The SPC, Syrtis Major, and the gibbous nature of the planet were unmistakable.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -1, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Wed Jun 25 07:00:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 824
This morning, I observed Mars at 133X. The south pole is now very obvious, even as it continues to shrink slowly. Mars seems to be about 95% gibbous. Limb haze continues on the right side of Mars, as seen in a newtonian reflector. I also observed three small white cloud patches on the face of Mars for only a brief period of good seeing. I also observed Mare Acidalium near the north pole and Aurorae Sinus near the equator.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -.8)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Tue Jun 3 08:30:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 819
This morning, I observed Mars at 133X. The south polar cap is still obvious but it has definitely started to shrink. I was only able to detect a little limb haze on the right side of Mars as seen in a newtonian reflecter. Mars seems to be at about 90% gibbous phase. The only land feature I could identify was Mare Sirenum in the southern hemishere.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -1)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Sat May 10 08:45:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 810
This morning I observed Mars at 133x. Mars is at 85-90% gibbous phase. The south polar ice cap is still very obvious. However, I believe the ice cap has started to recede. There seems to be a chain of clouds going off the ice cap. The clouds are along the right limb of Mars as seen in a newtonian reflecter. These clouds may be the result of the polar ice cap beginning to melt. I observed some dark areas abuting the south polar ice cap. The area I observed may have been Mare Acidalium.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -0.5)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 6-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Sun Apr 20 09:00:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 805
This Easter morning before dawn, I got up to take a quick look at Mars at 133X. Mars is still in a gibbous phase and its disk is still quite small. The south polar icecap is huge right now. It is expected to shrink in the coming months. I observed some dark features on Mars, possibly Syrtis Major. As Mars continues to draw closer, the seeing will only improve. After observing Mars, I retired back to sleep with visions of Easter dinner dancing in my head.
Mars (Planet)
Observer: Jason Jones (e-mail: jason.jasco@gmail.com)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Mission Viejo, CA, USA
Light pollution: severe Transparency: poor Seeing: fair
Time: Tue Jan 1 00:10:00 2002 UT Obs. no.: 1843
Viewed mars in poor viewing conditions.
Mars (Planet)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: cosmicdreamer38@yahoo.com)
Instrument: naked eye Location: Marianna, Florida, USA
Light pollution: severe Transparency: poor Seeing: good
Time: Fri Jun 22 04:00:00 2001 UT Obs. no.: 558
Got a good naked eye view of Mars which appeared to be in the constellation of Scorpius. Antares was about 10 degrees west of Mars, although both were roughly in the same plane. From my vantage point, Mars was about 180 degrees azimuth and about 60 degrees altitude. A very nice sighting considering the severe light pollution we have here.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2.3, est. to be in Ophiuchus)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Harrisburg, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: poor Seeing: fair
Time: Tue Jun 12 06:00:00 2001 UT Obs. no.: 557
I have been observing Mars at every possible opportunity as it nears opposition on June 13th. Until Saturday, Sunday (briefly), and Monday nights I had not been able to view it through the 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain at the ASH Naylor Observatory (http://www.astrohbg.org) for some time. From my residence I had been using my 101mm f/5.4 Tele Vue Genesis sdf refractor, my 114mm f/7.9 Celestron C4.5 Newtonian, and my 150mm f/10 ATM Dobnewt with a variety of magnifications and Wratten #21 (orange) and #80A (light blue) color filters. What was most striking about those observations was the fact that I could clearly see Syrtis Major on the morning of 6/9 at only 45x through the refractor. On Saturday night I traveled to the ASH Naylor Observatory (http://www.astrohbg.org) and spent a long time viewing and sketching the Red Planet . The seeing was fairly steady and I was able to use magnifications of 202, 249, 259, 324, 381, and 404x with and without #21 and #80A color filters. For a period I tried stopping down the 17" Cassegrain with 6" and 10" aperture masks. Syrtis Major, Sinus Sabaeus, and Mare Serpentis were quite prominent . However, I could not make out the Hellas Basin to the south of Syrtis Major. The central meridian at the time of my sketch was approximately 309 degrees. On Monday night the seeing was not quite as good and was more variable but magnifications of 162, 202, 249, 259, 324, and 404 were supported at times. In addition to the light blue and orange filters I used red, yellow, and magenta color filters. Mars was about 20" in size and Syrtis Major was again very prominent.
Mars (Planet)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: severe Transparency: good Seeing: poor
Time: Wed Jun 6 05:30:00 2001 UT Obs. no.: 555
My first opportunity to view Mars during this apparition. I wasn't really sure how prominent it would be naked-eye (or where, exactly, it would be, I have to admit), and spent a few minutes examining (and rejecting) some stars near the full moon shortly after moonrise. Then I went out at 10:30 p.m. local time, and saw that amazingly bright (compared to my last memories of viewing Mars) object below and to the left of the moon. Through the telescope it was a nice, big disk, though too low, and with too-bad seeing, to reveal any features to me.
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