Mars on May 25, 2018 in Capricornus
The pre-dawn morning of May 25th provided me with the most stable skies that I have
experienced so far this year. The previous morning's Mars was a boiling sphere of red
and no real details could be seen. But now the Red Planet wavered only mildly in my
eyepiece at over 300-power, often showing sharpness rarely seen under my skies. The
South Polar cap was pointed in Earth’s direction and was distinct (south is up in the
drawing). Mare Eryhraeum dominated the south while Mare Acidalium darkened the
northern hemisphere, with the bright desert region of Chryse in-between. The Eye-of-Mars
(Solis Lacus) appeared as a dark bump extending to the right of Mare Eryhraeum. I live
for stable skies like I had the morning of May 25th. I only hope that such nights will continue
to appear, on occasion, over my house as Mars grows in size over the next couple of
months.
experienced so far this year. The previous morning's Mars was a boiling sphere of red
and no real details could be seen. But now the Red Planet wavered only mildly in my
eyepiece at over 300-power, often showing sharpness rarely seen under my skies. The
South Polar cap was pointed in Earth’s direction and was distinct (south is up in the
drawing). Mare Eryhraeum dominated the south while Mare Acidalium darkened the
northern hemisphere, with the bright desert region of Chryse in-between. The Eye-of-Mars
(Solis Lacus) appeared as a dark bump extending to the right of Mare Eryhraeum. I live
for stable skies like I had the morning of May 25th. I only hope that such nights will continue
to appear, on occasion, over my house as Mars grows in size over the next couple of
months.