In October 2020, Mars made one of its periodic close approaches to Earth (about 62 million miles). The red planet shone brightly in the evening sky, and it was a treat to look at it through a telescope.

My location in Connecticut never seems to have the really steady atmosphere that is needed to get great views of the planets. There was a moderate amount of atmospheric turbulence when I took the sequence of photos for this image, but it does show some of the prominent surface features and the small polar cap.

Image details:  Stack of 600 exposures taken with a Canon T6i camera and a 14-inch Meade LX850 telescope at f/16.

October 3, 2020