@. . . . Just got in from observing Mars and wanted to write to you. I used my 6-inch refractor in fair-good seeing. Although Mars is getting very small (currently only 7.5"), at 440x I could make out Mare Cimmerium-Tyrrhenum prominently near the southern limb. The NPH was dull at the extreme northern limb, and just doesn't seem as prominent as it has in the past month. The most interesting cloud feature was a bright area near the sunset limb which I believe to be Elysium. It was suspected with integrated light, and seemed enhanced with W80A (light-blue).
  Most of my observing now is done in twilight in hopes of catching good seeing. I also find this helps with detecting the albedo features. As you know, it will soon be difficult to detect much detail with my telescope. It is a very fine instrument, but at 6 inches, there is only so much that is possible. But I will continue to observe and contribute what I can for as long as I can. I am in the early stages of making a 12 inch mirror. I am thinking of leaving it about f8-10 mainly for planetary purposes. Hopefully I will have it ready for 2001!
  Warmest regards,

@. . . . It would be my privledge to send you a photo of my telescope and myself. I need to secure a good one and will forward it as soon as possible. I will also send out my latest observations no later than September 15.
  Several years ago I had regular observing time on the 31cm f15 Clark refractor at the United States Naval Observatory. Unfortunately I was not able to observe Mars well. But the definition of this telescope was exceptionally fine on the other planets! That's when I decided I wanted to have a refractor of large enough aperture to study the planets. I occasionally still make a trip to USNO, but now that I live farther away, these visits are less frequent.
  I read your observing reports with envy at times. It seems parts of Japan are blessed with steady maritime seeing. Here in Virginia, this time of year we have cold and warm fronts battling eachother, with the result of many nights of poor seeing. I have noticed my best nights are when the jetstream is well off to the north.
  Once again, thank you for a truly fascinating publication. I enjoy contributing immensely, and hope someday maybe I will have the privledge of seeing and meeting you and the other observers contributing to CMO.

@. . . . I hope these sketches arrive prior to deadline for CMO#223. I am sending them out a few days earlier than in the past with hopes they arrive promptly. I don't think I will be able to secure any further Mars observations for the next few days as we are expecting bad weather from Haurricane Floyd. I hope you have continued success with the remaining 1999 Mars aparition!

@. . . . I have attached a recent photo taken from my backyard showing my telescope and setup. The mount is a converted Meade Starfinder with a 7.5 inch Byers RA drive, and a tangent arm for declination control. I salvaged the pier from a local junkyard, and have it bolted to about 800 pounds of buried concrete. This insures great stability for high power planetary and ccd imaging. The device attached to the eyepiece end of the telescope is a filter wheel. Mounted on top of the main telescope is an 80mm f15 guide-scope used for centering targets during ccd imaging and guiding long-exposure astrophotos. This picture was taken shortly after sunrise, and the telescope pier is covered in dew. Please let me know if you would prefer a hard copy of this picture. If so, I would be happy to send it with my next group of Mars observations.