Mars

Imaging planets isn’t as easy as most believe. This photo is actually the result of 5000 photos being combined into one. Combine that with the insane focal length needed to get any kind of detail on planets (they are really small in the night sky).

To image planets a technique called “lucky imaging” is used. At these magnification levels seeing (turbulence, …) causes Mars to just look like a red, wobbling blob. Software can be used take the best X% of those 5000 photos to reconstruct the details lost due to atmospheric seeing.

Visible in this image is also the Grand Valley on Mars, which was believed to be an ocean of water back in the earlier days of astronomy.