Sam WHITBY #217

Letters to the Editor

from Sam WHITBY in CMO #217

@. . . . I am sending you a couple of sketches made on April 21,1999, at 4:20 and 5:00 UT. The CM's were 230°W and 240°W, respectively. De was 18°N, Ls was 127°. I used my 15cm Newtonian at 310x. The drawings were made with a W21 filter. Mars was inspected with a W80A filter, and, as often is the case, limb markings were somewhat subdued in blue as compared with orange. Elysium, especially at 240°CM, was brighter in blue. Seeing was 7 on ALPO scale. Transparency was 5. The drawing made at 4:20 shows Syrtis Major as a thin marking immersed in haze. Hesperia is visible. Elysium is not especially light. Propontis I is on the preceding limb. The drawing made at 5:00 shows Syrtis Major out of the haze and the brilliant Hellas as a very bright sliver on the edge of the disk. The Atheria dark spot is more detailed, and Elysium is slightly brighter. The polar band also shows more detail. The NPC itself was so small that it was difficult to see.
Email has advantages that I had not foreseen. Tyler got chocolate on the edge of the original form. By pre-scanning and sending only the drawings, I did not have to send you the evidence of his crime.
Thank you for CMO 215, which arrived yesterday. Thank you also for the fine photo of Andre Nikolai and his telescope and observatory. I owe him a letter. It will be good to see him get some attention in the CMO.
Mars has been big but usually blurred at its southern declination. Sometimes, even when the seeing is fair, the disk will become extremely blurred for several minutes, and I guess that is due to the hot exhaust from my neighbors' chimneys. As the nights become warmer and my neighbors no longer use their furnaces, that problem should diminish.
I have not felt well today, having vertigo due to ear problems, and have worried because I have agreed to work long hours through Saturday.
Hoping to feel better soon, I am
Sincerely yours,

(27 Apr 1999 email)

Samuel WHITBY ( VA, USA ) : whitbyu@erols.com