What Can I See On Mars in 2005?

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See also our 2005 Mars Opposition Page

The Disk of Mars is Usually Very Small and Detail is Hard to See in Most Amateur Telescopes

Mars Through a Small Telescope (click for telescope buying info)
Fig. 1. Drawing of Mars Through a Telescope
(See box on right for details)

But when Mars is near opposition and close to Earth, the disk becomes large enough for small telescopes to show several diverse features (Fig. 1 & 2).

Also see:

Figure 1 shows view at low magnification while Figure 2 is enlarged to show possible observable features on Mars. (Higher magnification and filters might be required to see some of this detail). Also see the Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2003 August 19: "Mars Through a Small Telescope."

During October and November 2005, Mars shines brighter than any other nighttime star or planet (except the evening planet Venus). Anyone can find and see this brilliant ochre "star" even if you don't know the sky or live where skies are bright from city lights. During late evenings from mid-October to mid-November look toward the southeastern or southern sky (in the USA) to see this brilliant golden jewel of the night.

Notes About Fig. 1 & 2: Drawing by AAC member Mike Toomey, Morriston, Florida 2003 July 11, 2:30–3:30 a.m. EDT. Mike used a 12.5 in. diameter, f/5 Portaball Dobsonian reflector made by Mag 1 Instruments. Eyepiece combinations include 10.5mm Pentax (150x), 7mm Pentax (227x) plus 2.1x Vernonscope barlow (310x and 475x respectively). High power (475x) used sparingly. Also, used Meade color filters, primarily light yellow, light green and light red. Manual tracking. Very light fog, but otherwise steady skies until end of observing run.

The drawing below (Fig. 2) illustrates some of the Martian features you might try to see when you observe Mars (Fig. 1) in a small to moderate size, high quality telescope (as shown in Fig. 1).


Click for recent Mars observations from ALPO
Fig. 2. Mars Features Sometimes Visible Through Earthbound Telescopes

Some features may not always show due to poor weather conditions at your observing sight (e.g., unsteady air and hazy skies).

Other features show seasonal changes including the polar caps and albedo features. For example, poorly reflecting surface material (dark albedo features) often show seasonal changes (due to wind blown dust).

Other features are transitory (polar ice comes and goes, clouds, fog and haze can change hourly.) In addition, large dust storms (some global) can hide part of all of the Martian surface.

Finally, Mars also cycles through an incomplete cycle of phases (from full phase at conjunction or opposition to gibbous) so the disk may not always look round.

Astronomers call the dividing line between the light (day) side and the dark (night) of a planet the terminator. (Can you see the terminator in the drawing?)

Note: During August 2005 and onward, you can watch the southern polar cap recede and develop rifts, dark spots, and a ragged border. (Summer begins in the Martian southern hemisphere 2005 August 16.) During November, it will be the middle of southern summer and northern winter. Will the South Polar Cap remnant still be visible? Will possible sandstorms obscure surface detail?

For more about observing Mars, get the Mars Observers Handbook from The Astronomical League. Also see the following:

And if you want to buy a telescope, see our telescope page. Also read End Ting's "So You Wanna Buy a Telescope...Advice for Beginners."

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(Page Last Updated November 7, 2005)
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