FWIS3

pumpkinpi wrote:

Thumper wrote:No emails about Mars looking as big as a full moon?

Has anyone spent time looking at it recently? In the predawn sky it is huge and bright. I've wanted to drag the scope out see if I could see any detail. But I'm much too busy to bother with fun stuff.

Thumper wrote:

pumpkinpi wrote:

Thumper wrote:No emails about Mars looking as big as a full moon?

Has anyone spent time looking at it recently? In the predawn sky it is huge and bright. I've wanted to drag the scope out see if I could see any detail. But I'm much too busy to bother with fun stuff.

No, this time of year I'm usually sleeping most of the time the Sun is down! It's also pretty low and I don't have good views of the horizon.

You probably won't see as much detail as you normally could at opposition. There's a dust storm a-ragin'.

https://www.universetoday.com/139420/en ... tion-2018/

Yeah, it would be pretty low in the sky for northern US latitudes. Also, yeah, the dust storm. I wonder if the dust in the atmosphere makes the planet any more reflective. It really is strikingly bright and quite orange-y from my location.

I don't have a scope

I have not noticed it as such. But, then I am not as much of a star watcher as some.

SciFiFisher wrote:I have not noticed it as such. But, then I am not as much of a star watcher as some.

Mars is a planet.
Big and bright from 3:00am until dawn. That's the time I'm chasing raccoons away trying to avoid dispatching them. (BTW: That's not going very well)

Thumper wrote:

SciFiFisher wrote:I have not noticed it as such. But, then I am not as much of a star watcher as some.

Mars is a planet.
Big and bright from 3:00am until dawn. That's the time I'm chasing raccoons away trying to avoid dispatching them. (BTW: That's not going very well)

You are not intimidating them enough. If you leave the skull of one of them on a pole right by their path it will deter them. A guy named Vlad told me it was very effective.

Yeah, I know I could be alot meaner. I'm trying to reason with creatures whose sole goal in life is to get to the birdfeeders and chow down on some easy meals. I just hate reasoning with my Mossberg...

There are some snap bang traps you can set that are designed to make a lot of noise/commotion to condition them to stay away. Not sure what is legal in your state. You can also use electric fences/surfaces to keep them from reaching the birdfeeder. Because they are smart and adaptable you may wind up in an arms race.

Yeah, last month when I was doing the astronomy camp thing we definitely had trouble with Mars because of the dust storms. You could definitely make out some of the bigger features like the polar cap and the biggest dark patch, but most of the detail wasn't there.

Still hella bright though. Always amazes me a bit when it happens that it can get SO bright.

Rommie wrote:Yeah, last month when I was doing the astronomy camp thing we definitely had trouble with Mars because of the dust storms. You could definitely make out some of the bigger features like the polar cap and the biggest dark patch, but most of the detail wasn't there.

Still hella bright though. Always amazes me a bit when it happens that it can get SO bright.

Did you just re-rail a de-railed thread?

I believe she did.

For two posts!

Mars is big and bright.
(There)