Mars reaches opposition approximately every two years. Because of its non-circular orbit, the distance between Earth and Mars at opposition varies significantly. The opposition of 2001 was one of the most favorable in several years. Unfortunately, for observers in the northern hemisphere, Mars was low in the southern sky where the seeing was not very good. It is difficult to take decent images of Mars when the seeing is poor. This is one of the few decent images I was able to get during this opposition.
This is a composite RGB CCD image taken from my backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona. A Takahashi FCT-150 refractor and SBIG ST-8E CCD with a CFW-8 color filter wheel were used for imaging.
Constellation: Ophiuchus
RA: 17h 04m 59.4s Dec: -26d 50' 53"
June 29, 2001
Image by Sid Leach
Scottsdale, Arizona
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