2 0 0 9 P a r i s / M
e u d o n
IWCMO Conference
Paolo
TANGA: THE SOUTH POLAR CAP IN 2003 FROM HIGH
RESOLUTION REMOTE IMAGING: A COMPARISON TO MARS EXPRESS
IMAGERY
Talk at the IWCMO meeting, Meudon, 19th September
2009
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bstract: We have
measured several tens of amateur images from the 2003 perihelic
apparition of Mars (from Unione Astrofili
Italiani archive) thus obtaining accurate
representations of the South Polar Cap during its regression. We have also used the details detected inside the cap for building
a map of the albedo markings, following the evolution
of several classical features and of the well-known ＃cryptic region. A comparison with images from the ESA Mars Express
OMEGA instrument shows a good overall agreement. Although the different
wavelength response is at the origin of some difference, the high standard
reached by amateur observers is confirmed.
The
obtained results underline the importance of appropriate acquisition procedures
and measurement tools for exploiting the information available even when images
are obtained by small size instruments. We illustrate the main issues related
to acquisition and image processing and we present a computer program that was
designed specifically for the scientific exploitation.
Click
here 
Paolo TANGA, Observatoire
de la Cte d但zur/ Unione Astrofili
Italiani