Under the Scope
Learning from Microscopes and Telescopes.
14 Science Bulletin, May-June 2014
Moon
This detailed lunar image seems to be solely one picture, but in reality it is a mosaic of twelve photos. Many imagers use this technique to achieve larger, more detailed files. If examined closely, viewers can see slight differences between each section. Because this photo was taken as the crescent moon was lowering, the strip gets less detailed as you move down. This is caused by bad atmospheric conditions in the lower atmosphere.
Mars Shrinking
These two Martian photos were taken about three weeks apart. In this small period of time, the disk has almost halved in size. Apparent shrinking of Mars from earth is due to our distance. Since April, Mars has been moving farther from earth and therefore has gotten smaller. As the year goes on, mars will continue to shrink until it starts to near earth once more. This cycle takes 26 months to complete until Mars appears to be the same size once again.
Text and Photos by Grant Regen