NCKAS-Solar System

North Central Kansas Astronomical Society

Mars-The Red Planet. This image was taken by undergraduate research student Travis Stephenson at Mabee Observatory's 16" telescope. It shows the Syrtis Major regions. Mars was the closest it will be for the next 60,000 years August of 2003.

This section is devoted to our own neighborhood and it's incredible wonders. .

Sun - Our only Star; Sol
Mercury - An inhospitable inferno
Venus - Encased in clouds
Earth - The JEWEL among jewels
Moon - Our only natural satellite
Mars - Our closest neighbor planet in the universe.
Jupiter - The largest of the Gas Giant Planets
Saturn - Our Lord of the Rings.
Uranus - Gas Giant 3. The Green Giant
Neptune - Outer Gas Giant. The Blue Giant
Pluto - Little Pluto. Discovered by Kansasan Clyde Tombaugh
Ikeya-Zhang

Sun

Sun - Sol. Our own Thermo-nuclear powerhouse! This picture is in Hydrogen Alpha.

Mercury

Tiny Mercury - Not a nice place to be!

Venus

Venus - Encased in clouds. Not a very nice place either.

Earth

Earth - The JEWEL among a myriad of jewels. Just right! In fact, curiously so. The only location in the Universe with life that we know... for now...

Moon

Moon - Our own satellite. A shield that protects our curiously perfect world.

Click the image above to go to Sky Publishing's image with major features labeled.

Mars

Mars - Four different faces of Mars.

Jupiter

Jupiter - The largest planet in the solar system.

Saturn

Saturn - View of Saturn with the Rings almost edge-on.

Close up of the ring structure of Saturn. The Cassini Division is the easiest to see between the A and B rings. The Encke Division is a milestone to notch your telescope with!

Uranus

Uranus - More green and easier to see than Neptune.

Neptune

Neptune - Boy are you hard to find with an 8"! About half the apparent size of Uranus, and perhaps just a tad bluer in appearance.

Pluto

Tiny Pluto and it's companion Charon

Comet Ikeya-Zhang

(C/2002 C1) - Our newest comet. Looks like a big fuzz-ball low in the northern sky. Used the NexStar 8" go "GoTo" this ice-ball and it scoped it right in.