At present the main island of Japan is suffering from the rainy days, but the rainy season ended in Okinawa, one of the southernmost islands, earlier and they are now enjoying the clear sky and the fine seeing in Okinawa. On 25 June, HIGA and ISHADOH at Naha, Okinawa became aware of a broad faint band starting from the northern inlet of Hesperia to its south. On 26 June KUMAMORI at Sakai, Osaka and MORITA at Hatsuka-ichi, Hiroshima succeeded in shooting by the ccd instruments the dust cloud. The preceding dust streak looked to have a linkage with a dusty area inside Hellas. On 27 June, KUMAMORI, AKUTSU and MORITA produced good images of the region and showed how far the dust prevailed. HIGA also continued to point his telescope to the surface by the use of a Video Camera. ISHADOH also watched the cloud every night and produced several drawings of the dust. We hear also MURAKAMI, ISHBASHI, NAKAGAMI and some others also observed the event. The started season was Ls=184 degrees, and slightly earlier than the case of the occurrence of the so-called great dust storms, and hence it may not so develop further, but may work as a precedent of the coming great dust season. Further Reports shall follow.
10th CMO Short Report on the Present 2001 Great Dust Storm
Dear Colleagues,
Edward GRAFTON's images on 11 July at 3:31 GMT (LCM=342°W) showed that the storm obscured the final tip of Grand Syrtis (cf CMO-Web).
Just before the Grafton images reached, we had heard from Samuel WHITBY, Virginia, as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 22:33:52 -0700
From: "Sam and Uta Whitby" (whitbyu@erols.com)
Dear Masatsugu,
I was able to observe Mars with my reflector this evening for about half an hour. The seeing was good. At 2 UT (on 10 July) the planet looked very strange. Sinus Sabaeus and Sinus Meridiani were unrecognizable. What seems to have been the northern part of Syrtis Major was visible, detached from other dark albedo markings. The preceding limb of Mars was very bright. I made a sketch which I will send to you later. I am not a very experienced observer of Martian dust storms, but it looks like the "easy" side of Mars is largely obscured by dust . . .
Sincerely,
Sam
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 22:46:53 -0700
Dear Masatsugu,
Sincerely, Sam
We are otherwise not well informed from the European side how the western procession of the storm had proved out, but we think we can thus suppose the obscuration scale has now become globulous ever since the first obscuration started faintly near at M Tyrrhenum on 24 June.
There have been produced a lot of RGB or LRGB images since the start of the dust storm, while we do scarcely come across with the images that may reproduce the realistic tint of 'yellow' intrinsic to the expanding airborne dust cloud. Especially it was strange to us some of LRGB images continued to produce some 'normal' surfaces regardless of the obvious fact that the yellow dust had already proved globally covering the same surfaces. It seemed it was claimed that it was just abnormal only when some bright local dust bursts occurred or some dark markings were definitely obscured or deformed in the enhanced images. Obscuration is a matter of degree, but when we are to discuss how the storm will turn out, we should pay much attention to the subtle obscuration due to the expanding yellowish airborne dust, without depending much on the ability of the infrared penetration. The LRGB image is sometimes powerful, but as is widely known, it has not been well established yet as far as the Martian images are concerned, and we should sometimes refrain from saying something concerning the atmospheric matters if any depends only on the LRGB images.
Although the heavy obscuration was completed, we think rather there are arisen a lot of work to be done. This unexpected great event is of a novel type, in the sense it occurred in quite a younger season, it first rapidly expanded to the north, it invited several resonant cores while its start was never brilliant and so on. We suppose so any old styled comments may be boring, and no prediction by the so-called experts is possible: In other words any observation concerning the outcome of the storm might be significant and it is a good opportunity to watch this rare yellow Mars when its angular diameter is still large and it stays long in the evening sky.
At present, the areas from 90°W to 150°W are facing to us in Japan. Solis L does not show up; maybe some eastern part of the so-called Valhalla looks darkened, while M Sirenum is invisible yet. Fortunately the summits of Tharsis Montes as well as Olympus Mons are spotted. Arsia and Olympus Montes look brownish dark perhaps because of the contrast effect since the outskirts are bright yellow due to the dust sea. On 12 July, the dark spot of Olympus Mons was visible from its morning at LCM=090°W onward. Yesterday night I had a talk with ISHADOH who assured he saw first the stain on 7 July, and this night HIGA showed me a Video where it was taken on 6 July. At the same time we concluded that Olympus Mons looked 'normal' until circa 4 July at least in the evening although the dust was shown to have already reached Arcadia at the beginning of July. The dust must have been fully/thickly stable at the outskirts since around 5 or 6 July.
The CMO Web still keeps a page to upload the up-to-date images of the 2001 great dust storm, and it invites you to make an access to
http://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmo/oaa_mars.html
Thank you in advance, With best wishes, Masatsugu MINAMI@Okinawa
From: "Sam and Uta Whitby"
I was able to observe Mars again tonight, July 11, at 2 UT. Mars seems heavily obscured by dust, with only a vague Syrtis Major and a dim hint of Sinus Sabaeus visible. The seeing was not as good as last night, but it was still fair. I think the extent and degree of obscuration were greater tonight than last night. I made a sketch and will mail it to you later.
----------------------------------------------
Director, the OAA Mars Section
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Dear Colleagues,
Recent images from the US bring about interesting information on the
resonance of the dust cores or their flows. The images on 5 July taken by Ed
GRAFTON show a dust core to the west of Solis L, and the ones on 6 July by
Don PARKER do a bright band made of several bright spots to the east of Solis L: The latter further developed on the following days. Finally Don PARKER showed on 9 July that the dust over S Meridiani and Edom became
thicker.
From our side, the dust remains globally spread. Propontis I has been however rather evident these days. ISHADOH identified Olympus Mons as a dark spot since it appeared on the evening limb side. On 9 July ISHADOH and I at Naha (together by the use of a 25cm Newtonian) checked it at LCM=144°W and onward, and on 10 July from LCM=135°W (so that it lied quite near the CM). The spot is rather large and looked roundish in a tint of dark brown. It is apparent the summit has not yet been affected by the dust while the outskirts are light dusty to show the summit up. The three Tharsis Montes are also evident as a series of dark spots. To the south of Arsia Mons, there is a strange dark marking.
It may sound strange, but the north polar hood (nph) remains quite large and whitish bright: It seems it recovers soon its whiteness even if it is often affected by the dust. It is usually believed that the nph recesses when the dust storm develops, but this time it proved not the case. The spc is now quite obscure or quite smaller (than expected) from this side, while its morning side is followed by a condensed/bright white cloud along the morning terminator. This is a characteristic fact observed successively these days.
TAN W-L in Singapore produces every day excellent images and posts readily within a few hours (cf CMO-Web). His images on 9 and 10 July show Olympus Mons on the afternoon side. We are sure he will capture it on 11 July near the CM, because there is only one hour difference or so between us. His blue colour of the nph implies the whiteness of the white cloud.
We are about to observe an aftermath of Solis L and the following Daedalia whether such a shading seen in 1973 is appearing or not.
More later,
Sincerely
Masatsugu MINAMI@ Naha, Okinawa on the morning of 11 July JST.
#09
Subject: The dust does not invade Olympus Mons yet
From: Masatsugu MINAMI
Date: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 7:45 AM +0900
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Dear Sam,
Thank you for your kind words in your previous email. I am sorry I am late in responding. As I hope you understand, I have been extraordinarily busy these days with observations and the edition of the CMO, and hence I am in a helpless condition to act in return to any of the emails I recently receive. Last night it was rainy after four successive fine nights, and so I think I have a time to write about recent Martian surfaces observed from the Oriental side to send to you, and pardon me if I succeed I may circulate this by the use of MURAKAMI's CMO larger emailing list.
The Martian disk still remains wholly obscured from our side. Last night on 4 July, we (NAKAJIMA and I) first caught the planet at twilight before 20 h JST (11 hours GMT) at Fukui, and we thought the scene of the blurred M Sirenum (including an eastern part of M Cimmerium) was quite reminiscent of the scene we met in 1973 a few days after the occurrence of the great dust storm at the Solis L region. The season was largely different (Ls was 300°in 1973) and the direction where the dust disturbance reached was opposite, while the scale of the obscuration seemed quite the same as judged from the distribution of the obscured dark markings. Furthermore, we noticed at the evening limb side a new brighter dust patch in Daedalia-Claritas preceding M Sirenum, and we thought this might have already been caught at the western countries of the US.
The bright dust patch must have certainly been caused by the dust disturbance at the following side, but this does not imply that the patch moved from the western side. Any encircling storm is a global storm, but any global storm does not mean it has a character of the encircling. Encircling is a minor index of the scale. When I met the late Professor Shotaro MIYAMOTO at Director's room of the Kwasan Observatory, Kyoto University, just after the brilliant occurrence of the dust at the Solis L region in October 1973, discussing about the possible expansion of the storm, he pointed out a possibility of the simultaneous occurrence of several dust cores at various areas, and suggested the scale of the storm is related more with the resonance than the expansion itself. The later depends more simply on the simple wind system, but resonance is more intrinsic. I suppose the present patch at the Daedalia-Claritas area is a resonant one.
As I have written, the dust storm has already been global (in the scale), and on 4 July we witnessed that the dust reached the north polar region and the morning side of the nph clearly showed an off-white tint, thought the evening cloud patch was still whitish bright. Attached here please find the image made by Teruaki KUMAMORI (by the use of a 60 cm Cass of the Sakai City Observatory) on 3 July, in which you see how the dust storm covers globally the disk. I don't suppose who call it local or regional. How many regions on Mars do you need to describe this covering as regional? The classification sounds almost primitive, and we should say the possibility of watching from every region on the Earth simultaneously (since encircling) is not related with the scale of the storm.
I was told from NAKAJIMA that the Martian disk covered wholly by the yellow cloud was branded on his mind even after he went home on 2 July late at night. It was not simply a disk, but it appeared to us as a glossy globular planet in beautiful perspective. We are of the opinion that the yellow cloud should not be observed with the use of the thick filters. The distribution is not necessarily made of the bright parts only, and if one can check it by a red filter, he will more easily be able to find it by the integrated light. Red or Infrared image may unearth the fainted dark markings, but the scale can more be checked by the naked eyes. We should say at least that the present beautiful disk with bright yellow cloud should be watched through the naked eyes.
Obscuration is however not the prime standard of the dust cloud. The scale of the dust disturbance is attributed to how it causes the change of the dark markings, to be temporal or to be secular. As I wrote repeatedly, the cloud is extraordinary since it already expanded from the spr to the npr, while at the same time it shows an every-day changing of the dark markings at the region of Phlegra and the Aetheria dark patch. Even Elysium and Cebrenia show tentative shadowy markings inside. It is quite interesting to know how the markings develop or not at the time the storm could have subsided. Fortunately, it happened at the opposition time, and so we may chase the aftermath within this season.
I don't understand why the HST distributes the images of this going-on global dust storm. I wrote previously to Tim PARKER as
>By the way, do you not know any plan (or any alteration in the plan)
Tim kindly replied (on 2 July at 18:30 GMT) as follows
>I would go ahead and ask either Jim Bell or Phil James about HST plans to image Mars. I would be surprised if there aren't plans to do so already, but I could be wrong.
So I expect the HST is to work soon.
I am terribly busy: We have not yet completed the printed version of CMO #246 (25 June 2001 issue, too late). Furthermore I am bound to fly to Okinawa the day after tomorrow to observe the planet. I am looking forward to meeting soon HIGA and ISHADOH who have observed fully the early stage of the present dust disturbance under the clear skies every night at Okinawa (unfortunately MIYAZAKI does not stay near his Observatory at the Okinawa mainland, but in a different island at present on duty). AKUTSU already left Okinawa after shooting Mars and went home. Following me, several CMO members will visit Okinawa on to watch Mars by WAKUGAWA's 40cm. I hope the weather in Okinawa should be moderately poor: If not, the publication of the CMO will be much delayed. Alas!
By the way, looking through the instructive and excellent book by DOBBINS, PARKER, and CAPEN (Observing and Photographing the Solar System in 1988), I found by chance the name of your friend Randy TATUM as a recorder of the ALPO Solar Section. How is he going? Do you think he is observing our planet still at Richmond? If so, please send my kind wishes to him.
Our CMO colleagues, MURAKAMI and TSUNEMACHI have also had a deep interest in the Solar activity from the 1970's. They are wondering at present whether this spontaneous Martian dust burst has any relation with the present violent activity on the Solar surface or not.
I suppose the dust brightening of Daedalia-Claritas suggests a further development of the yellow cloud on the eastern side, and I hope it will remain amazing until you are able to catch the scene soon (though some of Japanese observers are now annoyed with this obscuration).
Thank you again for your kind regards, and I remain
Yours Sincerely
Masatsugu
#08
Subject: Eighth CMO communication on the dust storm
From: Masatsugu MINAMI
To: Whitby, Sam
Sent: Friday, July 06, 2001 9:51 AM +0900
>of the HST to shoot this going-on spectacle on the half side of the
>planet? Do you think I or somebody else should write a letter to Jim
>Bell or Phil James?
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Dear Colleagues,
This is a seventh communication on the present dust storm from the CMO/OAA, Japan.
Tonight near at 14:00 GMT (on 2 July), the Martian surface of LCM=220°W faced to us near at meridian under a good seeing condition. The whole of surface was beautiful in a tint of bright yellow, just like a polished big ball. We should say the yellow cloud globally covered the surface all around except for the north polar region. Nobody calls it local or regional.
One of the characteristics of the present dust storm is its expansion deep to the northern hemisphere. The term "yellow cloud" is a good terminology to describe the aspect of the global expansion from the deep south to the deep north, but in order to understand the changing going on at the region from Phlegra to the dark patch in Aetheria (known since 1975), it is plausible to consider that the "dust" disturbance came down northward and still occurs frequently also on the northern hemisphere. The shape of the Aetheria dark patch looked today different from that observed yesterday, and the inside of Elysium showed more dusky areas than yesterday. Cebrenia is bright yellowish in the same way as Phaethontis is bright dusty. Gyndes adjacent to the north polar hood looked free from the dust and the darkest among other surviving dark markings on the disk. The white cloud patches at the npr were also beautiful.
Even in the case of the great dust storm in 1956, the northern hemisphere was not so affected: The storm encircled on the southern hemisphere upto the south polar region. Difference may come from a difference of the mechanisms of the dust arousing in different seasons (or different water supplies and the solar heating), but mostly the expansion difference comes from the difference of the global wind system. In 1956, the season was near 250°Ls and the dust received the strong easterly. On the other hand, this time, the season is younger and milder yet when the south polar cap just started to thaw, and so the present wind system could not cause the hemi-sphere encircled expansion (as in 1956) nor the globular expansion (as just in 1971).
Even then the present yellow cloud storm have already shown a global expansion from Hellas to M Sirenum on the one hand and from the south polar region to the deep north on the other. Nearly it is thus covering a hemi-sphere (just like in 1956 though on different hemisphere). We should say this is rare and extraordinary and so this new kind of global phenomenon needs further attention.
We suppose it is frustrating to wait the expansion whose speed is slower than the 40 minute rotation a day, but should wait until the yellowish hemisphere is seen to say something. We of course suppose the airborne dusts will soon subside away because of the season, but it is also possible for the thinner part of the airborne dust to have already influenced the other hemi-sphere. We should remember these airborne matters may cause another germ of storm in a latter season.
Tonight, Takashi NAKAJIMA and I witnessed the scene together at the Fukui Observatory: We both experienced the great dust storms in 1956, 1971 and 1973 at the same Observatory, but we both felt that we have never seen such a beautiful yellow storm expansion. It was apparently impossible to sketch such a glossy surface, and we are sure that neither photo-image nor literature can reproduce the globe wholly covered by the mildly bright yellow cloud.
With best wishes,
Masatsugu MINAMI,
#07
Subject: Whole disk is now globally yellowish!
Date: Tuesday, July 03, 2001 4:41 AM +0900
From: Masatsugu MINAMI
Editor, the CMO/OAA
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Dear Colleagues,
One week has passed since the dust cloud started on circa 24 June near Hesperia: We wonder thus how the cloud expansion westward is visible from the Occident.
This is a sixth CMO/OAA communication on the going-on dust storm from Japan.
As I returned from the Observatory, I heard from KUMAMORI, MORITA, MURAKAMI, and TSUNEMACHI that they all succeeded in observing Mars tonight on 1 July after a long absence of observation, while HIGA and ISHADOH are silent: They confessed the night before that they were dead tired because their observations had lasted every night since the beginning of the storm.
At Fukui, the sky was clear first tonight and we started from LCM~190°W (at 11:30 GMT), but nearly at one o'clock am (16 hours GMT) mist hanged over the observatory (atop of a hill), and so we were not able to observe the surfaces west of LCM=250°W.
Summing up the results obtained by our members including mine, the eastern procession of the storm reached M Sirenum, and Electris looked still brilliant with newly aroused dust; looking to cause something to M Sirenum tomorrow. The following areas appeared already covered largely by airborne dust to the extent that M Cimmerium was extraordinarily faint covered by several streaks of dust just leaving some dim markings. The spc looked whitish bright with a fine dark (black) fringe first, but became quite duller as the surface rotated.
In the northern hemisphere, Propontis I, Phlegra and the Aetheria dark patch were clearly seen, though even they looked slightly faded. One of dust streaks seemed to have come down to Elysium and the shape of the Aetheria dark patch has definitely changed. The dust disturbance should be said thus global. The Gyndes band was however seen up to Utopia, adjacent to the bright nph that was made of two (one outgoing and the other coming-in) white cloud patches.
Unexpectedly, Syrtis Mj came in to show up its whole shape though it was not fully dense. Morning terminator looked slightly hazy with dull white water vapour.
Gradually Syrtis Mj and Hellas are thus about to go out of sight from Japan, and so we expect a timely start of intensive observations of the present global dust storm in Europe. Late at night (or early morning), the covered or still uncovered M Sirenum might be caught in the US tonight.
This evening (JST), HIKI's drawings made on 29 June and ccd images on 1 July by MORITA shall be uploaded in a just started corner of the CMO-Web.
Masatsugu MINAMI
#06
Subject: Storm is now global!
Date: Monday, July 02, 2001 6:04 AM +0900
From: Masatsugu MINAMI
Thank you for your interest,
With best wishes
Director, the OAA Mars
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This is a fifth short communication from the CMO/OAA on the dust storm (on 29 June GMT):
No report from the observers in the main island arrived today because of the dismal weather, but the observers in Okinawa are still enjoying the seeing.
ISHADOH emailed me at 13:30 GMT that the dust storm looked to have further developed and M Cimmerium was nearly divided into two crossed by a thick streak of dust cloud coming from the southern side.
A moment ago, I received another detailed report from him together with several drawings made this night: According to the report and the drawings, almost all the markings on the southern hemisphere appear to have been affected by the dust, and as far as seen from LCM=240 - 270°, no more than M Cimmerium (except for the crossed part) and the dark fringe of the spc look dark. ISHADOH assures that even the spc (especially its evening side) has become off-white because of the dust.
Don PARKER agrees with me in alerting the European observers since "it looks like the storm is still extending". Really the following side may soon be affected by the westward expansion of the storm. As well, as ISHADOH reports, the effect of the dust storm can also be soon checked from the south circumpolar region from any corner of the world.
Last night, just after I wrote "My email receiver has however been silent up until now; maybe since the observation time is not yet over (1:00 o'clock local time)", I received the following message from TAN Wei-Leong in Singapore:
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 01:49:58 +0800
I've got some images from abt 12:00 to 14:00 Japan time, will be
processing them after this.
And after the day broke, I received from TAN
a set of excellent images at LCM=274°W in which the bright germ of dust at the eastern coast of Syrtis Mj was clearly shot as HIGA reported last night (already uploaded in the CMO Gallery).
According to ISHADOH, the germ still remains brightest tonight and looks to have made Syrtis Mj faded except at its northern tip. However such northern markings as Utopia, N Alcyonius and the dark patch following Elysium in Aetheria are normally dark. The nph is roundish large.
I returned home from Kyoto, but it's raining at Fukui.
Sincerely
Masatsugu MINAMI
#05
Subject: Dust storm further develops
Date: Saturday, June 30, 2001 5:03 AM +0900
From: Masatsugu MINAMI
Dear Colleagues,
From: "Tan Wei Leong" (weileong@singnet.com.sg)
To: vzv03210@nifty.ne.jp
Subject: Re: Dust still prevails
Not much images just 4 sets of images.
Regards.
The CMO/OAA
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Dear Colleagues,
This is a fourth email on the dust at Hesperia-Hellas.
They still enjoy the clear sky and seeing at Okinawa. I hear AKUTSU arrived safely there.
I had a telephone call from Yasunobu HIGA at Naha, Okinawa this night. According to him, a small, but bright germ of dust has newly appeared today at the east coast of Syrtis Mj. It is interesting to note that the place looks following the area where the vanished Moeris Lacus was once located, if I have not misheard. HIGA assures that it is brighter than the spc at present, but very dim in the blue light. We expect to hear the aftermath of the germ tomorrow.
My email receiver has however been silent up until now; maybe since the observation time is not yet over (1:00 o'clock local time).
We are sorry since we were late in uploading the images of the dust cloud on 26 and 27 June (by AKUTSU, KUMAMORI and MORITA), but the CMO Gallery has been updated with these images, and so we hope you may make an access to
http://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmo/oaa_mars.html
There you will also find the images of the Edom brightening observed on 7 June at the Florida Keys (by courtesy of Tom DOBBINS and David MOOR).
Thank you in advance for your interest.
With best wishes,
Masatsugu @Kyoto
#04
Subject: Dust still prevails
Date: Friday, June 29, 2001 1:19 AM +0900
From: Masatsugu MINAMI
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Yukio MORITA has just completed his images at LCM=264°W. It shows more Hellas side, and proves that the streak inside Hellas has further developed as well as the forgoing streak's winding.
Just a comment: Mare Cimmerium is completely out of the cloud, not affected by the cloud yet. The cloud is located to the west of the line of 250°W. Even the tip of the NW end of M Cimmerium is clearly visible.
This is a second report:
The dust cloud now shows its vivid aspect, swirling from Hellas down to Hesperia. It now shows a bright core at the junction (at Ausonia Australis) of the two streaks (one at the eastern Hellas and the other at the area between M Tyrrhenum and M Cimmerium).
It is quite big and definite and looks stable.
I have just received two processed image-files from AKUTSU and KUMAMORI made this night on 27 June.
AKUTSU's set of good images were compiled at LCM=258°W this night on 27 June at 13:50 GMT, and the bright knot is just near the noon. It is shot in all wavelengths, IR, R, G, B as well as Int. The images are excellent to the extent that all of the known dark markings are clearly produced, and hence the strange meandering of the streak is well shown up. He was still at Home Observatory (using a 32 cm speculum with Teleris 2) at Tochigi this night, but he is going to fly to Okinawa to shoot the cloud by the use of a 40 cm spec chez WAKUGAWA from 28 June for four days.
KUMAMORI succeeded to shoot the dust cloud slightly earlier at
LCM= 248°W by the use of a 60 cm Cassegrain at Sakai, Osaka equipped with a Sony TRV-900 Video Camera. The still image is a composite of 380 frames (this is nowadays possible!) and since he used an artificial colour to feature the cloud, the area covered by the dust is clearly identified.
The spc is still clearly seen (ina smaller size, but well whitish bright) and the nph also develops.
I hear HIGA was also aware of the phenomenon independently.
We are going to update the CMO Gallery with these images if the day breaks and our working colleague is not so busy.
Dear Colleagues,
A definite expansion of dust clouds inside and near Hellas has been observed by a number of CMO observers here in Japan.
The dust cloud has no more particularly bright area, and looks diffused, but it is definitely a dust phenomenon, as judged from the ccd images produced by KUMAMORI and MORITA on 26 June, covering a large region from Hellas to Hesperia. The eastern part of Hellas is covered by a bright dust streak, and at the same time M Tyrrhenum looks separated from M Cimmerium by a broad dust streak. The resonance between them is not clear at present, but the area inclusive is largely dusty.
KUMAMORI first sent to me a processed image (made from Sony Video images) taken on 26 June at LCM=277°W(at 14:29 GMT), and meanwhile I received a set of good ST-5C images from MORITA also on 26 June at LCM=275°W and 85°W.
One hour ago I had a conversation on the phone with ISHADOH at Okinawa (he was at the eyepiece with a wireless phone), and I am convinced that the phenomenon is surely developing on the area.
M Tyrrhenum has been slightly faded these days and looked weaker than Syrtis Mj and M Cimmerium, and showed a much fainter area inside it near the mouth of Hesperia on 24 June (184° Ls), as observed from Fukui. Most part of M Tyrrhenum is however apparent even today according to ISHADOH.
We are suffering from the rainy season in the main island of Japan, while it ended already in Okinawa, and according to ISHADOH, he is enjoying the clear skies every night these days, and has been chasing the dust phenomenon. He is about to send his drawings by FAX to me. I expect HIGA is also on an alert by the use of his Video recorder. As to the origin we have no definite information yet, but I expect to have more data and news within a few days. AKUTSU is now going to fly to Okinawa on 28 June JST to observe.
The area is at present facing to the Oriental countries, while its effect may be caught soon in Europe. And we also expect to receive the data from the US observers of pre-stage of the dust at the concerned region.
Further news as well as the images will be posted in our CMO Web-Site. Thank you for your interest, and I look forward to further nformation, With best wishes
Masatsugu MINAMI at Kyoto on 27 June at 16 hours GMT
#03
Subject: PS: Dust Cloud Further Develops
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 04:59:37 +0900
From: Masatsugu MINAMI
#02
Subject: Dust Cloud Further Develops
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 04:23:28 +0900
From: Masatsugu MINAMI
#01
Subject: A Vast Dust Cloud Witnessed!
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 02:17:36 +0900
From: Masatsugu MINAMI
Director, the OAA Mars Section