Help

I went out last night,that big bright orange star thats very high in the sky is mars then.Cool,should I be able to see the canals or what should I be seeing.I have a sky map that is in this months issue of The Sky at Night.What I can see is a arrow made out of stars.

Those three stars in a line and are at a 45 degrees angle are always visible outside my house but I couldn't find them on the sky map so I don't know where I am.

You will need quite a large scope to see canals Ciaran! With a 6" reflector, you will see some cloud features, and dark planes. If seeing conditions allow, you should even spot the polar ice cap. All the above depend on the over all seeing conditions. A larger scope will allow for easier spotting of those features. Anything smaller and you will just get a nice bright orange disc.

By the way, what telescope have you got again?

Seanie.

Hi Ciaran

You wont see any canals on mars. but depending on your scope as seanie says you should be able to see some surface markings.

Those three stars in a row are in the Constellation Orion and are known as Orions Belt.

And don't forget Saturn, now that it is rising in the east at about 9.30pm and will be at it's best for the next few months

Keith..

The orange star could also be Aldebran or Betelguese..................but most likely it's good old Mars.

The orange star could also be Aldebran or Betelguese..................but most likely it's good old Mars.

Nah, Mars stands out quite a bit ahead of Betelgeuse and Aldebaran!