Imagery taken last night (15 Aug 2018) definitely shows more Martian surface detail. As the dust suspended in the atmosphere due to the planet wide dust storm starts to settle, we can see more and more of the surface. Visual observations of Mars during the recent meteor watch showed a hint of surface detail. New NWFAA member John Walker brought along his C-11 and I took several turns at the scope looking at the planet.
Visible is the dark Syrtis Major formation. It is the dark area running roughly north-south and is now known to be a large squat shield volcano. South of it is the bright Hellas Planitia. The name refers to the plain inside the Hellas impact basin, one of the largest craters in the solar system. It is 1,400 miles in diameter and measurements show the deepest part of the crater to be 30,000 ft lower than the rim although the rim itself rises several thousand feet above the surrounding terrain.
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There is still no word on whether or not the solar powered rover Opportunity survived the storm. JPL says it may take a month or more before the rover tries to phone home. They report that they continue to listen and periodically transmit a “give us a call” command.
The matching map and the orientation illustration is courtesy of WinJUPOS.