Getting ready for Mars' Opposition

In just a few weeks, October 13, 2020,  Mars will be the closest to earth since July 27, 2018. And, it won't be closer until 2035!  Back in 2018 I did try to photograph the red planet, when it was a bit closer than it will get this year, but a number of circumstances made it a not-so-great opposition. It was, by all accounts, supposed to be a great opposition (For information about the 2018 event you can head on over to an article in EarthSky by Bruce McClure). And in many ways it was.  But I ran into a number of problems.

First, Mars was low in the southern sky. Since it's orbit is inclined to the ecliptic, it's position at each opposition depends on where it lies on the orbital plane relative to earth. Second, the weather didn't cooperate. Lots of cloudy nights kept me from getting any good images. And the clear nights the atmosphere was very turbulent. Finally, the third obstacle was also weather related - Mars' weather that is! A super dust storm covered the whole planet for most of the time while it was close to the earth.

This year, things are different. It will still get really close (about 38.9 million miles vs. 35.9 million in 2018). That will make Mars appear as 22" in diameter; in 2018 it was 24" (a " is an arc-second; each arc-second is 1/3600 of a degree) well within the capability of my equipment. Then, the position is very much favorable, as Mars will get high in the sky, at a declination of 5 degrees (vs -25 degrees back in 2018). Whether or not the weather (on both planets) cooperates or not is any one's guess.

Planning for this opposition has been underway, and I've been configuring my new ASI462MC planetary camera over the past few nights in preparation for the event. A new Televue Powermate 4x is still on order, but should be arriving soon. This lens will be able to further magnify the image provided the atmosphere is steady enough to allow its use (always a problem here in Maryland). 

Mars Sept 5, 2020
EdgeHD11; ASI462mc f/25
Stacked 4000 frames of 20,000

My first test image turned out quite well. Taken in the wee hours of September 5th after significant processing I was able to get some pretty good detail to show up. And, no dust storms.

October should provide a great opportunity to get some really nice images.