LtE in CMO #257

From  Jim BELL

@. . . . . From: "Jim Bell" <jfb8@cornell.edu>

To:<park3232@bellsouth.net>;<klassen@rowan.edu>;<dtroiani@mercury.triton.cc.il.us>;<cmo@mars.dti.ne.jp>;<rhill@lpl.arizona.edu>; <bstevens@roadrunner.com>;<RMckim5374@aol.com>

Cc: <jfb8@cornell.edu>; <ezn1@cornell.edu>

Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 1:23 PM

Subject: Blue Pictures of a Red Planet?

 

Friends of Mars,

 

A graduate student here (Eldar Noe) and I are analyzing some near-infrared HST images of Mars taken by the NICMOS instrument back in 1997, and we're trying to find some (any) supporting groundbased observations acquired in the visible at or near the same time. We weren't able to use HST's visible wavelength camera at the same time, unfortunately. We're mostly looking for blue filter images especially, to try to independently assess the opacity of ice clouds and hazes on the planet during this time.

The NICMOS images were acquired on July 23, 1997, between 11:30 and 13:00 UT.  The planet was only 6.7" diameter and at a phase angle of 40 degrees.

 Do you have or know of any observations that cover this period, plus or minus a day,  that we could use as an aid in our analysis?  I could not find any myself on the various Marswatch web sites.

 With gratitude and best wishes for a successful 2002,

(27 January 2002 email)

  Jim BELL (Ithaca, NY, USA)

jfb8@cornell.edu

  (CMO Note)  The time slot does not hit other than the Asia and Oceania area. The period was treated in CMO #194 (p2142) which shows there was no photographic observation reported on 23 July 1997. Just it was Mn that visually observed on the day: Mn's sketch book tells that drawings were taken at 10:10, 10:50, 11:30 (LCM=033°W) and 12:10 (LCM=043°W). On the day, however, the seeing was very poor. CMO #194 reports T IWASAKI (Iw) visually observed on 22 July and 24 July: He observed at LCM=043°W, 053°W on 22 July, and at LCM=024°W,033°W. On 22 July, Mn also observed at LCM=021, 031, 041, 050 & 060°W (under slightly better seeing than on 23 July). The one at LCM=050°W (12:40) may show the surface similar to the surface on 23 July at 13:00~13:20 GMT. As is noted in #194, Iw's first drawing on 24 July shows a white morning mist following M Acidalium. Mn's drawings on 22 July also show that Tempe and Xanthe were morning misty, and Argyre was atop light. The npc was definite at the bottom.

As to the photographic observations, Yukio MORITA (Mo) took some images on 21 July as reported in CMO #199 p2219 (pre-reported in #195 p2157). He newly sent us a file containing a few sets of images from LCM=046°W to 057°W. The first image was taken at 11:02 GMT.

 

On 21 July, Iw also observed at LCM=053°W & 063°W.

On 20 July, ISHADOH (Id), Iw, Mo and MURAKAMI observed. Id intensively watched the area of Eos (to check an aftermath of the dust cloud found by the HST at the end of June).

 

At those times, the planet shined to the east of Spica, and its apparent declination was around -12 degrees, implying the Martian altitude was quite low seen from our country.

 (Mn)

 

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