@davidduarte_ac
Conjunction of Mars and the Moon
This was the last encounter between the Moon and Mars in 2020. More than that, it was last close conjunction involving those two with Mars at or near opposition for next couple of years.
And, considering that the following oppositions of Mars won't bring the planet close enough to us to achieve at least 20 arcseconds until 2033, this was the last conjunction of the Moon and Mars with the Red Planet this big (actually, even more, about 22 arcseconds) for the next 13 years.
The conjunction of 3rd October 2020 was an occultation for a very narrow region of South America and a huge area over the South Atlantic Ocean, in a way that the occultation prediction zone was tangential to virtually all the eastern coast of the continent, for which the two celestial bodies presented themselves in a close conjunction, including for my location, in Maceió-AL, Brazil.
The weather was not as good as when the planet reappeared from its lunar occultation of 6th September. In fact, I missed the moment of closest approach between the two due to clouds. However, just minutes later, I managed to make several recordings, from which this one resulted in the best image, from 73 frames stacked out of about 400 captured.
On Mars, the South Polar Cap is evident! To the northwest, it is possible to still see some of Hellas Planitia and Syrtis Major, with bluish clouds above it. But it is the Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle that shows itself well centered on the planet, with Terra Arabia to the north of it and Terra Margaritifer to the east.
On the Moon, the shallow (partially flooded by lava in the past) Endymion Crater and the Atlas and Hercules pair are immediately spotted on the terminator zone and nearly horizontally aligned with Mars on the image. Lacus Somniorum (the Lake of Dreams) separates them from the prominent Posidonius crater and Le Monnier bay. Geminus, to the southeast (bottom) and the Aristoteles-Eudoxus pair to the northwest (up) are also well noticeable, with the Bürg crater situated approximately in the midpoint between Hercules and Eudoxus.
This image was accomplished with the collaboration of my dear friend Romualdo Caldas.
Equipment:
Telescope: Meade LX90-ACF 12-inch
Camera: QHY183C
Filter: Optolong L filter
Accessory: Skywatcher Dielectric Diagonal Mirror
Conjunction of Mars and the Moon
This was the last encounter between the Moon and Mars in 2020. More than that, it was last close conjunction involving those two with Mars at or near opposition for next couple of years.
And, considering that the following oppositions of Mars won't bring the planet close enough to us to achieve at least 20 arcseconds until 2033, this was the last conjunction of the Moon and Mars with the Red Planet this big (actually, even more, about 22 arcseconds) for the next 13 years.
The conjunction of 3rd October 2020 was an occultation for a very narrow region of South America and a huge area over the South Atlantic Ocean, in a way that the occultation prediction zone was tangential to virtually all the eastern coast of the continent, for which the two celestial bodies presented themselves in a close conjunction, including for my location, in Maceió-AL, Brazil.
The weather was not as good as when the planet reappeared from its lunar occultation of 6th September. In fact, I missed the moment of closest approach between the two due to clouds. However, just minutes later, I managed to make several recordings, from which this one resulted in the best image, from 73 frames stacked out of about 400 captured.
On Mars, the South Polar Cap is evident! To the northwest, it is possible to still see some of Hellas Planitia and Syrtis Major, with bluish clouds above it. But it is the Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle that shows itself well centered on the planet, with Terra Arabia to the north of it and Terra Margaritifer to the east.
On the Moon, the shallow (partially flooded by lava in the past) Endymion Crater and the Atlas and Hercules pair are immediately spotted on the terminator zone and nearly horizontally aligned with Mars on the image. Lacus Somniorum (the Lake of Dreams) separates them from the prominent Posidonius crater and Le Monnier bay. Geminus, to the southeast (bottom) and the Aristoteles-Eudoxus pair to the northwest (up) are also well noticeable, with the Bürg crater situated approximately in the midpoint between Hercules and Eudoxus.
This image was accomplished with the collaboration of my dear friend Romualdo Caldas.
Equipment:
Telescope: Meade LX90-ACF 12-inch
Camera: QHY183C
Filter: Optolong L filter
Accessory: Skywatcher Dielectric Diagonal Mirror