Mars in 2018

Oct 22, 2018UT

Oct. 17, 2018UT

Oct. 06, 2018UT

The CM of the blue filter image is ~168°.

Oct. 04, 2018UT

The CM of the unmarked blue filter image is ~187°.

Oct. 01, 2018UT

Sep. 30, 2018UT

Sep 18, 2018UT

Poor seeing conditions

Very poor seeing but good enough to record white clouds on the entire

disk of presumably H2O ice grains. Evening limb clouds extend Northward

to the North polar region. Morning limb clouds are bright from the SPC.

Sep 17, 2018UT

Sep 15, 2018UT                                         

Sep 13, 2018UT       Now using 3x Klee barlow instead of 1.8 Teleview barlow.  

The blue filter image shows the bluish white clouds recorded in the color image along the Morning limb.There may be other white clouds sprinkled across the disk. The NPH looks like two parts,  one bluish white and the other just white.                                

Sep 5, 2018UT Sep 4, 2018UT

The four largest volcanoes standout in each image. Olympus Mons is near the limb in the right lower quadrant. The Western apron of OM is dark since it slopes away from the sun. The Eastern apron of OM is brighter than the surrounding desert since it slopes toward the sun. This phenomenon is called the phase effect. 

Sep 5, 2018UT

Subtle dark shadings in the vicinity of Olympus Mons.  Very poor seeing.                                   

Aug. 23 2018UT

Dark markings this CM look to be normal. However there looks to be a streak of bright dust like a tounge on the ground North East of Hellas.

Part of the North polar hood is visible.  The Western limb near the equator is covered an opaque artifact.

The seeing was worse than on Aug 12 resulting in bloated dark markings. Once again white cloud bands are faintly visible as they were on July 10. They are best seen near the Morning limb. The North polar hood is fragmented.

August 12, 2018UT             S

Irregular shaped SPC. North Polar Hood is visible at bottom in early Fall in Northern Hemisphere. The transparency of the seasonal CO2 NPC has been verified over and over again by ALPO observers. The blue-grey color of the North polar region can then be identified as the NPH in the Fall. The NPC first becomes visible in very late winter.

August 04 2018UT and now using NGT-18 Newtonian reflector

Comparing Aug. 04 2018 with the same face of Mars on Aug. 05 2003 above, bits and pieces of the normal dark

markings are missing in the Aug. 04 image. For example Solis Lacus the black eye of Mars near center above,

is missing its Northern one-third and Nectar its dark connector to Mare Erythraeum is missing. Mare Erythraeum shows most of the same very dark nodes as in 2003 but now they are separated by bright desert regions instead of pale dark regions.

Mars on July 28 and July 25, 2018UT shows changes in the normal dark markings.

The normal dark markings in the Southern Hemisphere have either

shrunk(Solis Lacus) or become much darker and enlarged like from

Phoenicus Lacus extending to Vorticis D. The Western one-third of Mare

Sirenum is now desert brightness. Only the Eastern one-third of Mare Cimmerium

is now visible. The region from W Lon. 116° to 180° Lat -60° is now entirely dark.

Also some of these markings have changed in appearance from July 22 below.

  Mars on July 22, 2018                                                                      

High velocity winds are necessary for dust storms to lift                                       

large amounts of soil into the atmosphere. Winds here on                                     

Earth are commonly seen as waves in high grassy areas.                                     

Waves in winds on Mars could be the cause of the dark                                       

and light streaks on the surface visible in the image above.                                

July 16, 2018 at 05:51UT

The dark feature noted below is weakly visible. A large bright dust cloud originates in Northern Hellas and proceeds Eastward to cover Mare Hadriacum. Also prominent is a large dust Cloud over Hesperia. The atmosphere overall appears to contain an overabundance of dust making a dark marking like Syrtis Major look subdued. Also in this image is a veiled SPC. There are light streaks in the North Eastern quadrant of the globe like visible on July 10.

July 14, 2018 at 04:46UT                                         July 14, 2018 at 05:53UT                     

The SPC is partially hidden in a large band of airborne dust. A broad Syrtis Major is prominent in both images. The Western side of the SPC is visible in the 05:53 image as well as the Southern edge of the North Polar Hood. The July 13th at 06:05UT below shows the same SPC coverage.                             

July 13, 2018 at 06:05UT                                     July 10, 2018 at 06:27UT

The Southern edge of the North Polar Hood is visible in both of these  images. Bands of white clouds are shown streaking across Mars aligned with the equator. 

 It is early Fall in the Northern hemisphere.