The prospects for a clear view of the Mars Lunar Occultation was slim, but a few persistant observers took the challenge. I started off with binoculars just after 6:00pm and slowly assembled my camera and small refractor. The Moon was definitely enveloped by clouds reducing it to a fuzzy ball with Mars only occasionally making itself visible. At 6:21pm I managed this image just a little over 30 minutes away from first contact. The views through my small 76mm refractor at 60x were the best that I would manage. In spite of the clouds the view was superb. I watched it approach the Moon a few minutes before first contact but missed the actual disappearance as I was tending the camera. Waiting for the reaappearance was disappointing as the skies progressively thickened with cloud cover.

Lens: Nikkor 300/4 AFS w TC 1.4II
Camera: Nikon D7200
Sensor ISO: 1600
Exposure: 1/30 sec at f/8
Tracker: Star Adventurer
Processing: Adobe Photoshop 2023 CC