Earth had been catching up to Mars, and on August 26th and 27th Mars 
was only 35,000,000 miles away.   This offered the best view of Mars 
in recorded history.  We had been anxiously awaiting this chance for 
several months.  

The view from my telescope was much better than these pictures show. 
I really wish I could've captured what I see better.  These photos 
are raw images.   No PhotoShop enhancement has been done.  Due to 
constant interruptions from clouds I was not able to try any long
exposure film photos, nor did I get enough digital images to create
a nice PhotoShop enhanced photo.  The clouds also affected the 
quality of the picture I did get.   All had to be shot through a 
thin veil of clouds.  Perhaps next time...in 284 years I'll get 
a better chance. ;-)  


In July, we had a mini-star party at our house.   We were amazed at 
the view then.   The view on August 26-27th, was so much better it was 
beyond words.

May God bless you with clear skies!
Bruce