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A Week Until the Occultation of Mars

Alan
 

The occultation of Mars by the Moon is just over a week away and is visible from much of the United States on the night of December 7/8, also the night of the full Moon and the night Mars reaches opposition. From here, near Schenectady, NY, Mars spends less than 28 minutes hidden by the Moon. Somewhere just north of Kingston, south of here, it's a graze. The odds of clear skies here are probably low, so I hope folks elsewhere have clear skies and capture nice images and videos!

https://www.shadowandsubstance.com/occultation-of-mars/

Clear skies, Alan
Brian Valente
 

Thanks for the tip Alan! I have been so focused on the opposition i didn't even think about the occultation

Hopefully there will be a break in the weather here in northern california at that time

On Wed, Nov 30, 2022 at 11:26 AM Alan <adfrench@...> wrote:
The occultation of Mars by the Moon is just over a week away and is visible from much of the United States on the night of December 7/8, also the night of the full Moon and the night Mars reaches opposition. From here, near Schenectady, NY, Mars spends less than 28 minutes hidden by the Moon. Somewhere just north of Kingston, south of here, it's a graze. The odds of clear skies here are probably low, so I hope folks elsewhere have clear skies and capture nice images and videos!

https://www.shadowandsubstance.com/occultation-of-mars/

Clear skies, Alan



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midmoastro
 

Yes, thank you for the reminder Alan. If I may ask, what aperture is everyone planning on using? If it's clear here, the Stowaway or my Tak will be the easiest set up but wondering if I should attempt to bring out the 12' F/5 newtonian? If seeing supports it, probably better resolution.  Any downsides I am missing? Thoughts?
Todd
Brian Valente
 

Todd if the weather pattern holds and it's clear i'm hoping to use the 14" f/11 and get a really close shot of the occultation

it looks like it's only 25 deg altitude here so i'm not expecting a brilliantly clear image



On Wed, Nov 30, 2022 at 11:47 AM midmoastro <teche70@...> wrote:
Yes, thank you for the reminder Alan. If I may ask, what aperture is everyone planning on using? If it's clear here, the Stowaway or my Tak will be the easiest set up but wondering if I should attempt to bring out the 12' F/5 newtonian? If seeing supports it, probably better resolution.  Any downsides I am missing? Thoughts?
Todd



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midmoastro
 

Thanks Brian. If I recall correctly I should have it around 48 deg alt, right around 9pm, which is not past my bedtime yet.
Todd
Simon W
 

That's a great video, Alan - thanks for sharing!  It would be very interesting to compare your views with your simulations.  I put one together for Europe a few days ago (mainly for my students, and for fellow astronomers looking for a resource to share with newbies).  Disappearance is around 06:00 on the 8th in the Netherlands, so it isn't practical to have a get-together here.  Coincidentally, it will be at almost the same 25 degree altitude as Brian's view :-)  I'll be relying on my Mach1 to do all the work with my 10" newt while I try desperately to wake up.
https://youtu.be/rShtYc73mME

Clear skies everyone!
Simon
Paul Nelson
 

I've been meaning to thank you for the reminder Alan; it has been so overcast here that I wasn't paying attention and would likely have missed it. According to SkySafari, the occultation here in Michigan's Upper Peninsula lasts about an hour, starting at 10:15 at about 54 degrees, and ending about 11:15 at about 62 degrees. The weather here doesn't look optimistic at this point, but it wasn't supposed to be clear tonight and turned out to be so I had a chance to scout where I needed to set up. I am hoping it will be clear enough here Friday night also.

The video is a cool comparison of what can be expected depending on how you look at it.

Clear skies,
Paul
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