Starship Asterisk*

Out of focus mars.

[quote=SThompson post_id=336390 time=1705623603 user_id=147514]
I am a writer with a fact checking organization looking for an astrophotography expert. I'd like to be able to include a short comment (just a paragraph or two) on the record (with their name and credentials) which explains in layman's language the technical reason why a video image of Mars shot with a Nikon p1000 might have a shimmery watery looking effect compared to the May 2016 Hubble image of Mars.

I read the forum rules and I don't want to risk falling in a rabbithole explaining what the guy on TikTok is getting at by showcasing the differences... but I'm sure you can guess.

Here is a link to the video itself:
[url]https://www.tiktok.com/@fittestflatearther/video/7323409616958672171[/url]

Here is a link to 3 screenshots pulled from his video if you don't want to go on TikTok:
[url]https://images2.imgbox.com/11/9c/xsWtUG7R_o.jpg[/url]

My deadline is tomorrow afternoon, and expert comments which speak directly to the question are always such a valued addition to an article like this, especially a topic with technical details on several fronts- both atmospheric and photographic.

If you know of existing publicly available resources online that already cover the specific question- I'd appreciate links
If you know of someone who would be the perfect person to ask who isn't on this forum- if you could send me a private message- I'll send my contact info.
If you are that person- please let me know.

Thanks- Sarah Thompson
[url]https://twitter.com/ExploitingNiche[/url]
[/quote]
Assuming those images even are Mars (which they could be), we're seeing it at low magnification, poorly focused, and through an unsteady atmosphere, probably fairly low in the sky. The ripples are just different densities of air moving through the light path... the same thing you might see above a highway on a warm day. Nothing to do with the camera. (There are, of course, plenty of excellent amateur images of Mars that look a lot more like the NASA images, just with somewhat less resolution given smaller optics and an atmosphere.)

I am a writer with a fact checking organization looking for an astrophotography expert. I'd like to be able to include a short comment (just a paragraph or two) on the record (with their name and credentials) which explains in layman's language the technical reason why a video image of Mars shot with a Nikon p1000 might have a shimmery watery looking effect compared to the May 2016 Hubble image of Mars.

I read the forum rules and I don't want to risk falling in a rabbithole explaining what the guy on TikTok is getting at by showcasing the differences... but I'm sure you can guess.

Here is a link to the video itself:
[url]https://www.tiktok.com/@fittestflatearther/video/7323409616958672171[/url]

Here is a link to 3 screenshots pulled from his video if you don't want to go on TikTok:
[url]https://images2.imgbox.com/11/9c/xsWtUG7R_o.jpg[/url]

My deadline is tomorrow afternoon, and expert comments which speak directly to the question are always such a valued addition to an article like this, especially a topic with technical details on several fronts- both atmospheric and photographic.

If you know of existing publicly available resources online that already cover the specific question- I'd appreciate links
If you know of someone who would be the perfect person to ask who isn't on this forum- if you could send me a private message- I'll send my contact info.
If you are that person- please let me know.

Thanks- Sarah Thompson
[url]https://twitter.com/ExploitingNiche[/url]