(SNES) Mars 2001

[Albireo54@aol.com]

Hi Barry,

I very much enjoyed your perspective on the recent opposition of Mars. :o)

You wrote: <<What I find fascinating is that this dust storm was the real 
"event".>>

You said it! And in many more ways than one! Those of us who have experienced 
many previous oppositions had a pretty good idea of what to expect visually - 
but like for everyone else, our views were wiped out by the planet-wide 
storm. Most of the detail we did pick up down at FDO was done well before the 
opposition date of June 16th. Had we known that a global dust storm was going 
to ruin our views for the rest of the year, we all surely would have made 
more of an effort to get out and observe every night that we could. Of 
course, as you'll recall, the weather here on Earth was not helpful! Neither 
was Mars' low position along the ecliptic.

Public viewing of Mars has always been a problem for amateur astronomers - 
and always will be. Because even at its very best approaches - and they are 
rare - Mars reaches only about 25 arc seconds in diameter. That's barely over 
1/2 the diameter Jupiter reaches each and every year! And the contrast of 
surface features - even when there is no dust storm - is quite low. 

As oppositions approach, the public is inundated with imagery of the Red 
Planet taken by monster ground based scopes, the Hubble Space Telescope, and 
Mars orbiting spacecraft. They then trek down to FDO - and countless other 
observatories - expecting to see something comparable with their own eyes. 
And naturally they are very disappointed. This past summer we were able to 
(partially) blame the dust storm for the poor viewing - although most folks 
wondered why Mars was so small when all the great photos they've seen of it 
are so large!  "Gosh, I guess that big telescope at FDO isn't really powerful 
at all" - we could hear them saying.  :o(   In a way, the dust storm was a 
blessing, as far as public perception goes. Most folks walked away from the 
eyepiece feeling less "cheated" because an event quite beyond human control 
was running the show. 

This leads us to the great opposition of August 27, 2003 - the all time 
record breaker. How will amateur groups everywhere deal with the vastly 
over-hyped expectations that will be riding the minds of every visitor we 
get? If there is no dust storm in 2003 Mars will indeed be a joy to view 
telescopically. But as with all other types of astronomical observing, 
enjoyment requires a trained eye and realistic expectations. The general 
public will have neither, and will like come away from their visit to FDO 
rather disappointed. Especially if we don't do our part to educate our 
visitors, and readers of our website, as to what they should expect to see - 
and how to see it. 

There is plenty of time, as Mars will not begin to become interesting again 
until late spring in 2003. It will first attain 15 arc seconds diameter on 
June 21st and stay at least that large until November 1. The maximum will be 
25.11" on August 27th.
So we have a lot of planning to do. Perhaps we'll even have the Sky Theater 
ready by then, and can do some show and tell sessions ahead of the big event 
to improve public awareness.

I will also remember the 2001 opposition for the effect it had on our overall 
viewing during public nights - EVERYONE wanted to see that blurry reddish 
dot, and that meant that the 16" scope was tied up for hours on end looking 
at nothing but! Meanwhile, the true wonders of the summer heavens slipped by 
unnoticed. This is another problem we'll have to address in 2003, as Mars 
will surely take on an even greater role in the press and the public mind 
than it did this year. But let's be optimistic and see this increased 
interest as a plus for FDO and astronomy in general!

Hope to see you soon,
Doug
=====
Post to the entire list by writing to snegazers@brainiac.com.
Unsubscribe by mailing to majordomo@brainiac.com with the message body
"unsubscribe snegazers"