This is my third image session for Mars this year, and the best until now due to some good seeing moments. It’s also my very first LRGB image of the Red Planet using the ASI120MM camera.
The main areas, easily recognizable, are Syrtis Major, Hellas basin, and the North Polar Cap (NPC). The Hellas basin is shrouded in clouds, and there is also some cloud activity near the terminator, in the Elysium area. The NPC has an irregular shape. The western area of the disk is brighter compared to the rest of the regions, perhaps due to some clouds or dust.
The above image was featured on the front page of SpaceWeather.
Max
(March 16, 2014)
UPDATE: Yet another processing, this time also with some extra data from a few minutes earlier:
And a small animation. The variations between the two images are due to variable seeing conditions and transparency.
Max
(March 20, 2014)
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