I've got the Ceravolo Mak set up and ready to go for observing Mars, tonight. I tested the sky overhead by looking at Zeta Cancer, a triplet. The brighter member is a double at 0.8 arc-sec. It splits easily with trhe Ceravolo at 324x. I then barlowed the same 4mm Ortho up to 648x, and the 0.8 arc-sec double is really split. The sky is steady and clear. I'm hoping for good Mars' views later on. I'm excited since this is the first opportunity that I've had to use the Ceravolo to obseve Mars. I got this scope just after the last martian apparition in 1997. I can see Mars now low in the east. It's brighter than it was on its last apparition two years ago. It's a lot brighter than Acturus this year. Its almost as bright as Sirius!
Syrtis Major will again be near the meridian by 11-12 tonight.