Can the Hellas Basin crater on Mars be viewed from the Earth?
What size telescope would you need? ANSWER from Roger Herzler on 13 January 2006: Several features on Mars are visible in a backyard telescope. For example, the snow caps are visible in a 4″ telescope. I was able to find some good pictures of the Hellas Basin, which is an impact crater: Univ. of Texas: http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/everything/mars/hellas_basin.html Imagiverse’s own column on it: http://www.imagiverse.org/activities/robotics/iro/aaron.htm NASA website including details on it: http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect19/Sect19_12.html and this Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellas_Planitia According to Wikipedia, it was observed in the 1800s from Earth, and it wasn’t uncommon for astronomers to be using 6-10″ telescopes during that period. My suspicion is that would be sufficient, but I’ve not viewed it personally and can’t find a direct answer to “What size telescope would you need?” Return to list of questions QUESTION: How can we imagine a universe without human being
