This evening, I made another attempt at imaging Mars as the 2012 apparition (closest approach to Earth) draws to a close. Mars was at its largest apparent size on March 5, 2012 with an angular size of 13.9". At this point, it is down to about 12". I have not yet caught the planet on a night with good seeing. The white spot at the top of the image is the North polar cap, the bright region on the left is likely a dust storm. Image was taken with a Philips SPC-9000NC Webcam with a TMB-130SS Refractor and 5x PowerMate.
