The 2005 Mars opposition will be the best one until 2018.

October 11, 2005 2:45 am CDT	October 16, 2005 2:35 am CDT	October 25, 2005 2:00 am CDT

The above images were taken using my 13 inch Dobsonian telescope.

Each image is the result of stacking 20-40 individual images. Each individual image was
a 1/60 second exposure. The result is sharpened using Adaptive L-R deconvolution, then
a multiresolution sharpen. Finally, the colors are enhanced using an s-shaped stretch.

On August 27, 2003, Mars was closer to the earth than it has been in 60,000 years.

August 7, 2003 3:00 am CDT	August 9, 2003 3:00 am CDT	August 13, 2003 3:00 am CDT
August 16, 2003 2:30 am CDT	August 22, 2003 2:30 am CDT	August 27, 2003 1:30 am CDT
August 30, 2003 1:30 am CDT	September 5, 2003 1:00 am CDT	September 8. 2003 12:30 am CDT

The above images were taken using my 8" Dobsonian telescope.

Each of these images is the result of combining about 20 individual photos.
Each individual photo was a 1/30 sec exposure. The individual color components
were individually aligned (since the atmosphere bends them differently with Mars
only 30 degrees above the horizon), sharpened using L-R deconvolution. Then a
gamma curve adjustment was done to enhance the contrast.