Moon Occultation of Mars
July 06, 2021
Photographer: Sona Shahani Shukla
Summary Author: Sona Shahani Shukla
Shown above is the Moon's occultation of Mars as observed on April 17, 2021, from the rooftop of my home near New Delhi, India. Fortunately, the weather cooperated as it had rained a-bit day before, hence air pollution and haze were at relatively low levels. Because the Moon is so bright compared to the Red Planet, photographing this occultation was quite challenging. It should be noted that lunar occultations are useful for studying the lunar limb and its profile. It was a thrill to be able to witness this rare event.
Photo details: 8" Skywatcher Collapsible Dobsonian telescope; ZWO ASI 178MC; Manual Tracking; 6.4MP; 1200 mm; F/5.9; captured using Sharpcap Pro Capture Area=3096x2080 Gain=130; 0.050971 miliseconds; stacked in ASi3; Wavelets in Registax and Saturation in PS 2021.