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My night with the 6 inch 20th /21st November 05, and testing the Mintron at Canterbury.
Around 15.30 GMT on the 20th Nov while there was still light enough to see, I erected the MKAS fl2.6 6 inch refractor in my back garden and put plastic bags over the object glass dew cap and eyepiece. The air was absolutely still and already there was a marked chill. At 17.00 hours the stars higher up were scarcely twinkling at all, always a good sign for a planetary nut like me. 18.00 GMT found me kneeling on my bit of carpet remnant behind the telescope. I should note that even now, the instrument was covered with a film of moisture. There was a threat of fog which provided it did not descend, is good news for the planets but not for comets and nebulae. It's good when you can enjoy a view that approaches the telescopes optical potential. Atmospheric steadiness is paramount for the planets.
With the naked eye Mars still appears like a very bright reddish brown star shining unwaveringly in the constellation of Aries. The planet is currently magnitude -2.0. Using my 9m/m eyepiece I turned the scope on Mars and knew immediately this was going to be one of the best views so far this apparition. The planet was still completely round with no detectable phase. The South Polar Cap was very small but unmistakeable. The Martian southern hemisphere summer is well advanced. The North Polar Hood was much more obvious. This is extensive white cloud that forms over the Polar Cap in winter. There was also cloud on the planets western limb,- seen as limb whitening. Syrtis Major the prominent dark V marking on the planet could hardly be missed. After finishing with Mars and completing my drawing
 Mars, Tilt = -17Deg, Date 20/11/2005, U.T. 18h 10m
I resolved to make the most of the excellent seeing and wait for Saturn. The declinations of the two planets are currently similar so I knew from the right ascensions that the giant planet would be in roughly the same position in the sky as Mars was then, six and a half hours later. I watched a film indoors to pass the time and by 00.30 GMT I was back behind the telescope. The telescope and mount were now sopping wet but like earlier I had taken the precaution to put a bag over the eyepiece and objective.
With the naked eye Saturn looks like a bright, yellowish star of magnitude +0.2 resembling the northern star Capella in brightness and colour although unlike the star it shines with a steady light. The planet is currently in the constellation Cancer.
For Saturn I find my 12.5m/m eyepiece the most suitable. When I took my first look through the telescope, I knew the six hour wait had been worthwhile. The rings were noticeably narrower than at the last apparition but Encke's division was still visible. Cassini's division was prominent and black. The SEB was double and I repeatedly glimpsed the STB and SSTB as well. For the first time ever I saw the shadow of the ring as a fine black line on the planet's globe (under the ring) as well as the more obvious black shadow of the globe on the rings. Of the planet's moons, only Titan was obvious. Indeed at high powers in seeing such as tonight, the other satellites become very elusive. As with Mars earlier, I finished my drawing of Saturn indoors. As always, I leave the instrument outside to check my drawing. It was now around 02.00 GMT on the 21st and the moisture on the outside of the telescope was frozen. I was cold and tired and it was time to pack up for the night. But my efforts had borne fruit which made it worthwhile.
 Saturn, Tilt= -17.5Deg, DATE 21/11/2005, U.T 0.50
On the night of Tuesday 22nd November 05, Bob Tollervey, Ken Baker, Trevor Cannon, Ian Hargraves and I made for our observatory in Canterbury. It was a working /observing party to test out the Mintron camera through the 14 inch Schmidt Cassegrain. The image through the telescope can be recorded on video tape but was not on this occasion. Mars could be clearly seen on the TV monitor. The surface markings were best seen by reducing the image contrast. Syrtis Major was just disappearing off the western limb but Hellas; a white oval patch could still be seen. The most prominent dark markings were Sinus Meridiani and Pandorae Fretum stretching like two huge fingers roughly horizontally across the globe. The NPH was hinted at but I could not see the SPC on the monitor's image. This was at approximately 21h 25m. Ian recorded Mars image at the same time with his webcam. His pictures were in colour but they were of the same order of resolution to the Minton’s pictures.
Bob turned the telescope on to the Orion Nebula M42. We were hoping to see the nebulosity on the TV monitor. We made various adjustments including altering the contrast but for a long time we were only able to locate the trapezium. This tiny group of four stars between magnitude +5.0 and +8.0 are responsible for over 90 percent of the nebula's luminosity. We also located some other stars close by the trapezium. Only finally did we suspect a faint patch of gaseous luminosity.
Our last target was Saturn. Titan could be seen as a bright star like dot below the planet itself. As with Mars, the contrast needed reducing but with the planet being lower down and also less luminous than Mars, the disc detail was more elusive. Nevertheless we saw Cassini's division and the equatorial zone. I think I could just discern the SEB. It was now after midnight and we were getting cold and tired. It had been a good night and we had learnt a lot. The Mintron results were the best we have achieved yet.
My night with the 6 inch 29th / 30th November 05
Around 15.00 GMT on the 29th Nov while it was still light, I set up the MKAS fl2.6 6 inch refractor in my back garden and put plastic bags over the object glass dew cap and eyepiece. As on the 20l, the air was absolutely still and it was already getting cold. 19.00 GMT found me kneeling on my bit of carpet remnant behind the telescope. I should note that even now, the instrument was covered with a thin film of frozen frost. Unlike on the 20th, there was less danger of fog but it was also below freezing much earlier in the night than on the 20th/21st. In addition the sky was darker and clearer than before. Deep sky observers would have been able to utilise the seeing more readily. From a planetary viewpoint I still enjoyed a view that approached the telescopes optical potential. Atmospheric steadiness is paramount for the planets.
With the naked eye Mars still appears like a very bright reddish brown star shining unwaveringly in the constellation of Aries. The planet is currently magnitude - 1.7 and it still far outshines the other surrounding winter stars such as Hamal magnitude +2.0 and Sheraton magnitude +2.6, the principle stars in the host constellation Aries . Even the brightest nearby star, Capella in Auriga magnitude +0.08 looked dim by comparison. Only Sirius rising later on rivalled it's brilliance although I think the planet still had the edge. Sirius's white colour certainly emphasized Mars's redness. Using my 9m/m eyepiece I turned the scope on Mars and saw once more the seeing was favourable. The planet's phase is now just detectable. What a difference a week can make! The South Polar Cap (SPC) was very small but unmistakeable. It's continued visibility despite the lateness of the Martian southern summer is doubtless helped because for the next two or three weeks the planet's South Pole will continue tilting further towards the Earth. The North Polar Hood was again much more obvious than the SPC and again there was cloud on the planets western limb, - seen as limb whitening. Mare Tyrrhenum and Mare Cimmerium were much the most prominent dark markings sprawling like giant fingers across the planet's disc. After finishing with Mars and completing my drawing.
 Mars After opposition, Date 29/11/2005 U.T 19 20
I resolved to make the most of the favourable seeing and wait for Saturn. The declinations of the two planets are still currently similar so I knew the giant planet would be suitably placed for observation in about five hours hence. Just after midnight I was back behind the telescope. The telescope in particular was now covered with thick frost but like earlier I had taken the precaution to put a bag over the eyepiece and objective. With the naked eye Saturn looks like a bright, yellowish star of magnitude +0.2 closely resembling the northern star Capella in brightness and colour although unlike the star it shines with a steady light. The planet is currently in the constellation Cancer.
For Saturn I find my 12.5m/m eyepiece the most suitable. When I took my first look through the telescope, I knew the five hour vigil had not been in vain. Encke's division was still visible. Cassini's division was prominent and black. The SEB again was double but unlike before I could only see the STB. It seemed to me to be just a fraction broader than on the 21st. The shadow of the ring could be seen as a fine black line on the planet's globe (under the ring) as well as the even more obvious black shadow of the globe on the rings. Of the planet's moons Titan below and to the right of the planet was very obvious but Rhea near eastern elongation (on the right) was also clear. As with Mars earlier, I finished my drawing of Saturn indoors. As always, I leave the instrument outside to check my drawing. It was now around 01.30 GMT on the 30th and it was perishing outside. After an enjoyable night with the planets it was time to turn in and thaw myself out.
 Saturn, Tilt= 17.7Deg, Date 30/11/2005, U.T 0035
My night with the 6 inch on 10th December 05
Around 15.00 GMT while it was still light I set up the MKAS fl2.6 6 inch refractor in my back garden. Seeing promised to be good and I was not disappointed. I had a look at Mars with the usual 9m/m eyepiece giving a power of x 214. The phase is now obvious. At 18h 07m, kneeling behind the telescope on my bit of carpet remnant I did a drawing see below. Mare Sirenum was much the most prominent dark marking stretching like a giant tadpole horizontally from the terminator to near the middle of the planet. There was an off white patch just above it (South) but this was not as white as the NPH (North Polar Hood) clearly visible on the North limb below or the White cloud line extending along the western limb. The most elusive feature which I could only see for certain in an Orange 21 filter was the thin line like shading extending South and west from the western end of Mare Sirenum (the tadpoles head).
On the 9th December I'd observed Mars at Central Meridian (CM) longitude 224.2 degrees and I could not see the SPC (South Polar Cap) but to my surprise I could see it now. Although it was a very small white dot, it was unmistakeable. The CM longitude was 121.2 degrees. Richard McKim, the BAA Mars section director and a leading authority on Mars, told me the SPC was asymmetrical which is off to the side of Mars's South polar axis and best seen near the longitude of Argyre (CM 20 to 40 degrees). My observation of the 9th was almost 180 degrees away from there but on the 10th (see drawing blow) it was under 85 degrees away. From a planetary viewpoint I enjoyed seeing that improved to Antoniadi 2, a view approaching the telescopes optical potential. Atmospheric steadiness is always paramount for the planets.
With the naked eye Mars still appears like a very bright reddish brown star shining unwaveringly in the constellation of Aries. On the 10th the planet was magnitude —1.2 and still far outshining the other surrounding winter stars such as Hamal magnitude +2.0 and Sheraton magnitude +2.6, the principle stars in the host constellation Aries. Even the brightest nearby star, Capella in Auriga magnitude +0.08 looked dim by comparison. Only Sirius exactly equalled its brilliance, indeed the star's white colour emphasized Mars's redness. The planet is still conspicuous but its brightness is reducing. By the end of December 2005, its magnitude will have dropped to about — 0.6
 MARS, Longitude Of CM. 121.1Deg, DATE 10/12/2005, Time 18:07
Vesta shows itself 27th December 2005
Between 00h 30m and 01h 00m U.T on December 27th 2005 the asteroid Vesta was well under a degree away from the magnitude +3.5 star Delta Geminorum. This made locating it considerably easier. I could see it clearly in my binoculars (l0x 50's) but it was not until 23h 45m UT, still on the 27th when a break in the clouds enabled me to home in on Delta Geminorum again and confirm the asteroid's identity by it's movement. It looks like a small star in my binoculars not difficult to see even in the light fogged skies from Rainham
(Delta Geminorum is the brightest star. It is magnitude +3.5 and it is visible with the unaided eye. Stars A and B are of about equal brightness but they are dimmer than Delta. Star number 2 is much dimmer than stars A and B. Vesta's position at 0lh 00m UT is shown by VI and its position at 23h 45m U.T is indicated by V2. Vesta is very slightly brighter than star 2.
Rotating in 5.34 hours, it orbits the Sun in 3.63 years. With a diameter of about 330 miles, although it is the third largest asteroid, it is the brightest one of all. Currently at magnitude +6.6 it will brighten to magnitude +6.3 at opposition on the 5th January 2006. It's brightness is due to it's unusually high surface brightness. It's albedo is 0.38, higher than any other major asteroid. The images from the Hubble space telescope show it is not quite spherical. See picture below. Vesta is believed to be the parent body of two types of Achondrite meteorite, Eucrites (see picture below) and Diogenites. We will hopefully learn much more when the Dawn spacecraft due to be launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in May 2006 completes it's 9 year journey to study at close range, the two asteroids Ceres and Vesta.
 Eucrite fragment. The picture is the actual size. This specimen is markedly weathered except where it was chipped by the Natural History Museum to confirm it's identification.  Picture of Vesta in 1994 by the Hubble space telescope ' courtesy of Nasa'
My night with the 6 inch on 11th January 06
Around 15.30 GMT while it was still light I set up the MKAS fl2.6 6 inch refractor in my back garden. Seeing promised to be good - fog was forecast on the TV. My reason was to observe Saturn and it was more of an afterthought I looked at Mars first. But I'm glad I did. Using the usual 9m/m eyepiece giving a power of x 214 the phase is now very obvious. Since the 10th December last year I've tried several times to observe the red planet but the seeing has invariably been too poor. With the apparent diameter dropping off sharply I thought it would now be too far away. It was not but being only 11 seconds across, the disc is certainly more challenging even in the excellent seeing of tonight,- Antoniadi 2 at best. At 18h 55m, kneeling behind the telescope on my bit of carpet remnant I did a drawing see below. Mare Cimmerium and Mare Tyrrhenum stretching diagonally from upper left to lower right across the disc was much the most prominent dark marking. I could see no SPC but the NPH was present and there was significant white cloud on the west limb.
With the naked eye Mars still appears like a bright reddish star shining unwaveringly in the constellation of Aries. It's forward motion in that constellation since last November is very noticeable. On the 11th January, the planet was magnitude - 0.3, still outshining the other surrounding winter stars such as Hamal magnitude +2.0 and Sheraton magnitude +2.6, the principle stars in the host constellation Aries. Betelgeuse in the neighbouring constellation Orion which matches the planet's colour is currently rather fainter. Sirius is now obviously brighter than Mars.
I resolved to utilise the favourable seeing and wait for Saturn. The declinations of the two planets are now almost the same but as Mars was on the meridian and I did not have to wait for that. I knew the giant planet would be suitably placed after about 4 hours. Well before midnight I was back behind the telescope and I commenced my drawing at 22h 40m. The air was fairly dry so there was only a slight film of moisture on the telescope. Nevertheless I had earlier taken the precaution to put bags over the eyepiece and objective. With the naked eye Saturn looks like a bright, yellowish star of magnitude -0.2 still closely resembling the northern star Capella in brightness and colour although unlike the star it shines with a steady light. The planet is currently in the constellation Cancer.
For Saturn my 12.5m/m eyepiece is the most suitable. This gives a power of x 152. When I took my first look through the telescope, I knew the four hour wait had not been wasted. Encke's division was clearly visible in ring A. Cassini's division was prominent and black and ring B2 and ring C were clear. The SEB again was double with the lower (Northern) component being broader and darker than the upper (Southern) one. I could also see the STB (South Temp Belt) but that was fairly faint. The SPR has a belt on it's boundary. The shadow of the ring is now a much thinner black line on the planet's globe (under the ring). I think it is emerging behind ring C. The points where the C ring intersects the limb are especially dark and I would anticipate this shadow effect spreading as the apparition progresses. I would also expect the ring shadow on the North of the ring (under it) to disappear. The black shadow of the globe on the rings was clear but obviously thinner as opposition approaches. Of the planet's moons, Titan was clearly visible off to the right. In line with Titan and the planet off to the left, Rhea was very clear. I also spotted Tethys and Dione but they were far from conspicuous. As with Mars earlier, I finished my drawing of Saturn indoors. As always, I leave the instrument outside to check my drawing. It was now around 01.30am GMT on the 12th. There was a frost on the ground and it was time to pack up.
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