swh200

Messages to CMO No. 200

Samuel WHITBY

I want to thank you and the OAA for welcoming observers from around the world. Your generosity has helped many of us to get to know each other's work and some of us to get to know each other and to appreciate and value different ways of doing things. When one knows that his observations will be appreciated, studied, and critiqued in a timely manner, he naturally becomes more motivated to do the best work possible. By fostering communication, the CMO has helped to maintain high standards and has encouraged observers to continue to observe, in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of living in a larger society that may not find astronomy meaningful. Moreover, I think that, by encouraging communications between people from different countries, you have helped the cause of friendship and peace. Congratulations, for an important job well done.

David and Samuel Whitby inside the Observatory
of the Richmond Astronomical Society, Virginia

With the approach of the 200th issue of the CMO, it may be worthwhile to look back (very briefly) at the amateur observation of Mars and at its current state and to try, however imperfectly, to foresee the future.

In the distant past when I was a child there were observational data and many questions. Were there really canals on Mars? If so, what were they ? Was there life on Mars? Were the changes in albedo features due to the life cycles of Martian plants? What was the nature of the clouds observed on Mars? And so forth. We had good reasoning and good theories but not answers. The answers came largely as a result of the spectacular missions of the Mariners and Vikings.
In the 70's, during the successes of the space probes, there was much speculation that there was nothing left for amateur planet observers to do. There was a decline in membership in some organizations and a decrease in the number of observations submitted. With the wonderful success of the Pathfinder and, it still seems at this time, the Global Surveyer, one could draw a parallel between that time and ours and ask if there is still any room for amateurs to contribute to the planetary science of Mars.

The answer is qualified but heartily affirmative, for several reasons. In the first place, if there had not been observations from Earth, there would not have been questions that would have called for answers from advanced technology. If, for example, observers on our planet had not seen the domino clouds, there would have been no reason for them to be targeted by remote cameras and no reason to explain them as the orographics. If observers on the Earth had not seen the "yellow" and "white" clouds, there would not have been the interest in their nature, dust or vapor. There is no reason to believe that we have stopped seeing things that will puzzle us and make us long for better views and better understanding. One of our important roles will be to look for the unexpected and seek answers to new questions. We simply do not know what marvelous and mysterious things may be about to be observed and which will require explanations.

Another important activity will be to study the planet globally. Although we will not be able to spot boulders in the Valley of the Mariners, we will be able to keep track of the albedo features and the clouds, dust and vapor, on a whole side of the planet that will be presented at any given time. (To see the whole planet will require observers from our whole planet.) We can continue our counts of dust and vapor clouds. We can try to warn of impending dust storms. We can be alert for the totally unexpected, for which a robot could not be programmed.

There is usefulness in maintaining a continuity of method. We have studied the activity of the polar caps using several methods for many years. Studies of climate and weather are long term by their very nature. Amateurs (and of course professionals) have accumulated a massive amount of data that will grow in value as it increases, providing an extension of the data sent by the probes. Continuing to collect data from the Earth, while data is being collected from Mars, will help to suggest theories and enable extrapolation back and forth in time between the methods. More good questions will arise and beg for good answers. During the most recent apparition we have seen an example of this principle in action, in the observation of the polar dust storm by the Hubble Space Telescope and the extension to the question of whether or not this might be an adequate explanation of phenomena such as the Rima Tenuis. We will look for "fissures" that may be really dust storms and perhaps accumulate enough evidence to say whether or not the old observations of the Rima Tenuis provide evidence of past polar dust storms. I foresee the continued collection of data by both methods, Earthbound observation and space probes. The methods will re-inforce and correct each other.

It may come to pass that there will be a future when there will not be continuous observation from space. There may be budget problems, a loss of interest by the taxpayers, or worse. If the probes fall silent, we may still obtain information and maintain the continuity of our investigations, if we have not given up and quit observing because we have mistakenly decided that we could not be useful any more.

The new CCD technology is revolutionizing ground-based observation, making it more sensitive, more objective, than ever. New software is aiding in the making of maps and the analysis of data. These are extremely exciting times, with many opportunities and unforeseeable possibilities. Even if there were no other reason, we could look at Mars and share our observations because we enjoy doing so and find satisfaction from the observation. I hope and believe that we can look forward to a CMO 300 and more.

Samuel WHITBY
Virginua
USA