Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Mars Opposition 2014

Imaged Mars on April 8, 2014 when it was at opposition.  Opposition refers to Earth being right in the middle of another planet and the sun.  So when the sun sets in the west, Mars will rise in the east.  And when the sun rises, Mars will set in the west.  Get it?  Just like a full moon.  Mars will appear closer this year than it has in the last 7 years, however, it will be a mere 92 million kilometers on April 14th.  That's when Mars will appear it's closest to Earth.
The image below is from a Philips Web Cam and processed with Registax 6.

Mars Opposition 2014
1200 frames at 10 frames per second video
Camera: Philips TouCam Web Cam
Telescope: Celestron 11" Edge HD guided
Mount: Celestron CGE Pro
Location: Lubbock, TX
Dates: 2:00am, April 9, 2014
Captured with WebCam software and guided with PHD guiding. 
Processed with Registax 6.