The Moon and Mars - when and how?

[MT Stringer]

When will the photo op of the Moon and Mars be best for the Texas area? So far I haven't found a date. Is it in August?

With that said, how big do y'all think Mars will appear?

I took a few pics of the moon a few nights ago so I'm trying to figure out if I can get both in the picture or have to back off some. I used a Canon 40D with Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 with a 2x and 1.4TC stacked...about 840mm not counting the 1.6x factor of the camera.

This got me to thinking maybe I could shoot both and combine the images. Will it be possible to get Mars in focus? I figured I could shoot the Moon and then refocus and shoot Mars. The only thing is it proved difficult to focus my lens, even with Live View. I had to wait a minute before tripping the shutter (wireless remote and mirror locked up) so the camera had settled down. The tripod is sturdy, but that is about 12 pounds mounted on it.

Here's my shot from the other night.

All help appreciated.
Thanks
Mike

[ScootersDaddy]

That's a great shot!

[Kevin W]

I just found this site.....it's doesn't seem to be updated...but here's something I thought was cool and never thought of http://www.dslrtips.com/features/DSLR_Features_articles_interviews.shtml

[MT Stringer]

Thanks Kevin. The shake shown in the video is exactly what my screen looked like when I was trying to focus the Sigma.
Mike

[Kevin W]

Your welcome Mike

[jblaschke]

When will the photo op of the Moon and Mars be best for the Texas area? So far I haven't found a date. Is it in August?

With that said, how big do y'all think Mars will appear?

Uh, is this the whole "Mars will be as big as the Moon?" hoax that's been making the rounds for something like seven years now? http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/errata/a/two-moons.htm
Not going to happen. Mars will be a bright star when viewed with the naked eye, nothing more. You should be able to resolve it as a disc with your Siggy, but you won't see polar caps or anything like that.

[MT Stringer]

Thanks. I've read all about the hoax but that wasn't the reason for my question. I was just trying to figure out when a good time frame would be for shooting the moon and mars, even if it is just a twinkle in the sky.

For you guys with the big scopes, what do you see of Mars? Can you even focus on it? This is all new to me so I'm just curious.
Thanks
Mike

[jblaschke]

I wouldn't say I have a "big" scope, but my 6" Newt is serviceable even if it was originally designed for DSOs. I can resolve Mars into a reddish disc pretty much whenever it's visible, and depending on seeing conditions, have occasionally observed the polar caps. Mars can be disappointing, though. All those Viking and subsequent orbiters have given us a fantastically detailed view of the surface of the red planet. Terrestrial telescopes simply can't measure up.

[MT Stringer]

@jblaschke - thanks for the info.
Mike

[Adrena1in]

Just a point about focussing...if you can focus well enough for the moon, (judging by that picture you most certainly can!), then that will be good enough for *any* other celestial object. I've heard people saying in the past things like, "Surely the focus for the moon is different for the focus on a star, because the star is so much further away?", but to all intents and purposes, anything over a few miles is going to look fine at a certain focus, and that includes the moon, mars, Saturn, Jupiter, M31 and 3C273.

www.neave.com/planetarium is a pretty good online guide to what's going to be where in your night sky.

[MT Stringer]

Thanks Adrena1in

[A.S.I.G.N. Observatory]

I used to own a Celestron Nexstar 11 inch GPS Schmidt Cassegrain telescope. With a Phillips ToUCam, this is the best picture I ever got of it.

Baz.

[MT Stringer]

@A.S.I.G.N. Thanks for the info.