The planet Mars is again visible through the winter months so get you telescope out and look for surface details.

Use the data in the table left to calculate the CM  for the exact hour that you want to observe.

Then look at the map of Mars under so you can determine what kind of features are visible on the surface.

Color filters will definitely help a bit with visual planetary observing.

Depending on the size of you telescope you can use the wratten #21, this one is not that dark, ore the wratten #23 if you have more light-gathering power. Red and orange increases the contrast of Mars’s surface markings slightly, and it may also help steady the atmospheric seeing.

For emphasize the hazes and clouds the wratten #80 bleu will do the job very well. You can find them best where the sun is rising on the planet edge.

(cyan=occultation at moonrise/moonset; red dotted=daytime occultation; blue=twilight occultation; white=nighttime occultation)

Occultation predictions of Venus  Magnitude -3.9 Date 2010 May 16 

Moon: % illumination = 7+,  Solar elongation = 30   

Greatest Occultation   =   2010-May-16    09:08:55.6 UT       Altitude =  46.8°    Azimuth =  89.9°

                Universal Time                                            Azi    Alt        PA      Alt      PA

Ingress / intrede     2010-May-16       08:38:04.7 d   85.7°  40.5°   46.6°   63.1°  265.8°

Egress / uittrede     2010-May-16      09:41:34.8 b   94.9°  53.5°  303.9°   72.4°  266.0°

Duration    63m 30.0s

All the planet symbols on the finder charts are at 20h00 UT .

Opposition dates for the planets are:

MARS 03/03/2010 - JUPITER 21/09/2010 - SATURN 22/03/2010 - URANUS 21/09/2010

NEPTUNE 20/08/2010 - PLUTO 25/06/2010.

VENUS

THE MOON

Picture taken with the Tal klevsov 25cm F 2130 mm and the Canon D40