Occultation of Mars with a 6 inch Cooke

 

Occultation of Mars with a 6 inch Cooke

Occultation by Mars of BD +24’ 1659 bf A F Bennett April 21^st 1929 using a 6 inch Thomas Cooke and Sons Telescope

The observation was made from Leiston in Suffolk under good sky conditions. A bar had been fixed at the focus of the eyepiece, a Zeiss orthoscopic being used and giving a magnification of 240 on the 6 inch Cooke.

The star presented a minute sharp image, which without taking advantage of the bar to reduce the glare from Mars could be kept clearly in view until it had approached to within about 10” distance of the latter.

The star was held unmistakeably under observation until 20 h 39m 11s, when it could no longer be seen. The bar was now shifted so s to show the extreme edge of the Western limb of Mars, an the star was first glimpsed again, on reappearance at 20h and 50 min. The mean of these times gives 20h 45m for mid occultation.