From
Richard J McKIM
® . . . . . . .Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2003 05:06:56 EST
Subject: Re: DPk Dust Alert - CMO
Notice #07
Dear Masatsugu:
I received the alert from yourself and Don Parker. The
planet will be low in the west for
In the absence of CMO I have kept up to date with your
website. Ours at the BAA is also updated regularly.
This year I have been very busy with several major
historical biographies, and also the deskwork for the present apparition. Not
to mention that our daughter Michelle Anna McKim was
born in April!
Now I have made a start upon the backlog of final
apparitional reports, and hope to complete the 1995 report begun some time ago.
It will be followed up as soon as possible with the 1997-2003 reports. I will
be very glad to have any drawings from you for 2001 and 2003, and xerox copies of any notebook pages will be very welcome. I
think I have specimens of your drawings for the earlier years.
I have had so many CCD images this year I could not even
find time (yet) to count them all! There were 114 observers.
I understand that you have not been well, but hope you
nonetheless enjoyed the Great Perihelic Opposition of
2003. Please accept my best wishes for the season, and for 2004.
Yours sincerely
® . .
. . . . .Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 04:30:04 EST
Subject: Re: DPk Dust Alert - CMO
Notice #07
Dear Masatsugu
This is a short reply to your long email, for which many
thanks. I am just quickly looking at my email before going shopping.
First, the download failed to work because it told me that
the specified filename is invalid. I wonder if you could try again?
AOL can be difficult.
Despite the south declination I made 133 drawings to date,
and over half are good ones.
The present storm recalls 1990 November in many respects.
And I would predict it is seasonally too late to become encircling. Last night
from here Hellas did not look dusty to me, but we cannot see the Chryse (etc) storm longitudes from the
I owe you a longer reply!
Best wishes for now
® . .
. . . . .Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 10:15:00 EST
Subject: Re: DPk Dust Alert - CMO
Notice #07
Dear Masatsugu
Thank you. This time, fine, and indeed
most impressive. I would be glad to publish this collage later. It fills
a gap in our coverage of this event.
I understand what you write about older work. I have 16 boxfiles of data to analyse from
the period 1995 to date, comprising an average of 100 observers and 3000
observations per opposition. My regular reports were interrupted by the
completion of the dust storms book, but I have the 1995 work on my desk now....
Nonetheless I will glad to make use of xerox copies
of your sketches, especially if you do not intend to publish them yourself. As
you know, I am, and will remain primarily a visual observer.
All the best
® . .
. . . . .Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 05:02:50 EST
Subject: Re: Mars Images
Dear Don
My thanks for these nice images. I
am sending the (delayed and updated) BAA Mars circular about this storm below,
in case I did not send it earlier. The event's spreading further to the east
now somewhat resembles the 1988 November regional event, although its origin
was more like 1990 November, both of which are detailed (and charted) in my
dust storms book.
All the best
............................
Martian dust storm: Chryse-Argyre-Thaumasia
A regional dust storm
has broken out on Mars. Dr Donald Parker (USA) writes of his CCD images taken
on December 13 (Ls = 315 degrees): "A significant dust storm has arisen to
cover Chryse, Erythræum M.,
Auroræ Sinus, Candor, with smaller clouds in northern
Argyre and possibly Aram." On December 9-10 Chryse and Candor were bright, especially in Parker's red
light images, but no definite obscurations were present. Typically storms in
this region break out in eastern Valles Marineris or in southwest Chryse
(classical SW Xanthe). Data from December 14-16
indicate a spreading of the dust to include part of Thaumasia.
Bad weather has plagued
observational work in the UK throughout December to date, but it can stated
that CCD images by Michael Foulkes on December 5 show
the region to have been normal then, whilst images by Damian Peach on December
9 and drawings by the Director on December 15 show the longitude of Hellas to
be normal too. Visual work by Gianluigi Adamoli (
The seasonally latest
planet-encircling dust storm known began at Ls = 311° in 1924 December, suggesting
that the present event will not exceed large regional status. The December 13
images recall a similar regional event in 1990 November.
Mars is well-placed for
northern temperate observers, although good seeing will be needed to identify
features upon the small disk. From western Europe,
only the eastern end of the dust-affected region can be presently seen at the
morning terminator with the planet well past the meridian, but the storm
longitudes will be better placed for viewing later as they become visible over
the evening limb.
Richard McKim,
Director, BAA Mars
Section, 2003 December 16.
® . .
. . . . .Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2003 15:37:39 EST
Subject: Mars dust storm activity:
latest news from the BAA
Cherry Tree Cottage, Upper
Almost Christmas Eve, 2003
CHRISTMAS PRESENTS FOR
MARS:
A BEAGLE AND A REGIONAL
TELESCOPIC DUST STORM
"I'm dreaming of
a white Christmas....."
[If we substitute
'dusty' for 'white', I suppose we can still imagine Bing Crosby singing this in
the snow...... but it wouldn't be so photogenic!]
In advance of a report
to be written for the 2004 April BAA Journal, I am writing to give a few
details of the recent significant martian
dust storm, and to ask if anyone receiving this email letter has further observations
to contribute.
Reports of the BAA
observations up to the present are given on our Mars Section website at: http://www.britastro.org/mars
On the night of
December 12/13 UT (at Ls = 315 deg.) CCD images by Don Parker showed that a
significant dust storm had arisen over southern Chryse
(telescopic southern Xanthe) and the eastern part of Valles Marineris. Smaller, secondary
dust cores were seen in northern Argyre and over
By December 13/14 a
band of dust had extended SW from Argyre to higher latitudes and also westward
across Thaumasia to the south of Solis Lacus (with
the latter feature somewhat obscured). There was a general expansion of the original
cloud to veil Eos-Auroræ Sinus-Mare Erythræum.
On December 15/16,
further images showed a belt of dust crossing Noachis
and Pandoræ Fretum-Deucalionis
Regio diagonally from Argyre, and impinging upon Sinus
Sabæus. (Indeed, the Meridiani Sinus area was later
affected by dust for a time.)
By December 17/18,
activity was observed in
A series of images by
Ed Grafton at similar CML nicely demonstrated the progressive decline of the E.
end of the storm during December 18-21. At the time of writing there remains
but little suspended dust over Noachis, and the NW
Hellas dust core is smaller and weaker. As of December 23, images by T. Akutsu (0740-0908 UT, CML = 63-85°W) show that the W. end
of the activity has significantly declined, with the very little remaining dust
in Thaumasia (just reaching the E. edge) connected to
a bright persistent core in Argyre. Solis Lacus looks dark and well defined in
these latest images.
There have been
several albedo changes associated with the storm, and
it will be interesting to see for how long they will persist. The Pandoræ Fretum area looks broader
and darker, and Noachis is now somewhat less bright
than before the event. The whole area around Depressiones Hellesponticæ
(which marked the southern boundary of the Noachis
dust) is much darker than before. A similar change occurred at the time of the
great dust storm of 1956, and more recently during the event of 1988 November
(see below). The Phasis area to the west of Solis
Lacus should be watched closely for further possible albedo
changes there as the dust gradually settles.
The general E-W extent
of the storm at maximum was similar to that mapped by the writer for the 1988
November regional event, which had begun in Thaumasia
to the south of Solis Lacus at Ls = 313°. However, in 1988 the activity
ultimately did not quite extend as far east as
If you have sent Mars
observations to the BAA in 2003 (as 114 people have done so far), let me take
this opportunity to thank you again for your efforts and to assure you that the
observational work will be fully analysed in due
course. And remember that the apparition is not yet over!
Finally I am sure all
BAA members would wish Beagle 2 a safe landing on Mars on Christmas morning and
with that thought in mind let me send you my best wishes for 2004.
Richard McKim (Director, BAA Mars Section) 23.12.03
Richard McKIM (
Director,
the BAA Mars Section
email