Astrophoto: A Year of Mars Observations by Efrain Morales

By Nancy Atkinson - September 24, 2012 07:36 PM UTC | Planetary Science

Mars from July, 2011 to June 2012. Credit: Efrain Morales,

Superman has

nothing

on this big "S" created by putting together views of Mars for one full year. Efrain Morales from the Jaicoa Observatory in Puerto Rico compiled just a few images of Mars he captured from July of 2011 to June of 2012, and this collage shows the size differences in how Mars appeared in a telescope as the planet moved toward and then reached opposition in March of 2012, and how it appeared during the months afterward. Also visible is how the North Polar Cap decreased in size as the seasons changed on the red Planet.

Equipment: LX200ACF 12 inch, OTA, CGE mount, Flea3 CCD, TeleVue 3x barlows, Astronomik LRGB filter set. See more of Efrain's work at

his website.

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Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com