Contains:  Solar system body or event
Mars Opposition - Family Portrait, astropical

Mars Opposition - Family Portrait

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging
Mars Opposition - Family Portrait, astropical

Mars Opposition - Family Portrait

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging

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Description

Jupiter and Saturn are gradually moving out of my reach (west is obstructed). Motivation enough for perhaps this year's final family portrait of the bright outer planets, all of them still large enough to be attractive imaging targets. The lunar surface is added to scale. The prominent crater at the right is Endymion and De La Rue to its left. All objects are taken at FL=2250mm with IR-Cut filter, stacks of 600 frames each in raw-8, 1.5x drizzled. Elevations and apparent sizes were:

Jupiter at 38°, 38.99"

Saturn at 39°, 16.85"

Mars at 45°, 22.37"

The images disclose unfavorable atmospheric condition, but the results are not that bad.

Every evening around nine I take one of my dogs out for a walk. The other one strikes, possibly a big cheese in a labour union. Before we left I brought Mars into the center of the camera's view. As we came back after some 15 minutes, Mars was still exactly in the center. Wow, what an accurate tracking mount I have. Believing the chance for a good picture is now or never I pressed the capture button, only to find that the video preview was frozen, with Mars still in the center, but nonetheless precisely in the center. Today, October 13th, we celebrate the Opposition Day.

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Mars Opposition - Family Portrait, astropical