Mars and Saturn...

Mars has just passed opposition but is low down in the constellation Capricorn, rising to no more than about 12 degrees above my southern horizon. As a result of this, the combination of unsteady, hot summer air and atmospheric refraction makes conditions rather difficult for planetary imaging. Added to that, surface features on Mars have recently been obscured by a planet-wide dust storm, which is only just subsiding.

Nevertheless, I thought it might be worth trying to record a closer view of the baleful, dull red coal that is currently rising in my south-eastern sky at around 21.00.  Other than the moon, Mars is, at the moment, the brightest object in the night sky, with an unmistakable fiery hue that fully justifies its name of "the Red Planet".  Its magnitude is -2.7, but this will fade over the next few months as the planetary orbits open up the distance between us.

Mars, August 2nd. @ 23.15

This was taken using an old Phillips TouCam and a x2 barlow lens fitted to a Celestron C9.25.  The planet is too low down to be seen from my observatory so I set the scope up on my balcony, which offers unrestricted views to the east and south.  A one minute AVI file was taken at 25 fps and the output processed in Registax.

The southern polar ice-cap is just discernible as a lighter smudge at the bottom of the disc but other than that, surface details are just blurry blobs.

Similarly, I thought I'd have a go at Saturn, which passed opposition in June and is also low down in southern sky in the constellation of Sagittarius,  Although at a slightly greater elevation than Mars, (16 degrees at best at the moment), seeing conditions are just as poor.

Saturn, August 2nd. 22.45.

Set-up and exposures were as for the Mars shot above. Some planetary banding and the Cassini division in the rings are clearly visible, although again the image is blurred.