Astronomy · Observing Logs · Tag · saturn

The following are all the observing reports tagged with the term saturn displayed with the latest report first. If the report contains a direct reference to the tag then that part of the report will be displayed, otherwise only the report heading details will be present and you should click on the link to view the full report.

I wanted to get a shot of Saturn close to the tower of Nigg Kirk and so set off up to the cemetary at around 11pm. With clear skies it was easy to pick out Saturn, close to the sickle of Regulus. With my tripod I took a few test shots and then got my competition entry. I also got a nice shot of the whole of Leo.

The above shot was taken with my camera tripod mounted, ISO 80 at f/2.8 for 30 seconds

We spent the next couple of hours or so watching the spectacular as the sky got darker and the pair shined ever brighter. Occasionally clouds crept through but they only increased the drama and beauty of what we were seeing.

Later on Saturn too joined the party, and along with the Moon and Venus, this too was observed with the society's Nexstar 5 telescope. With chilly, clustery conditions the seeing conditions weren't great but Titan was visibile and the rings were, as always, a beautiful sight.

After looking at Venus for a little longer I turned my attention to Saturn now high in the South-east being pursued by Leo. Through the eyepiece the view was fairly steady though with far less detail than the other night. A single band could be seen on the surface which otherwise was a pale blur and the rings had no definition besides their outer edges. Again I tried to get some pictures and had slightly more success on this occasion, producing recognisable images. Again they were not terribly well in focus but you can see the results here and here. I identified 3 moons whilst observing Saturn although it must be said the sky was worsening during this period.

I took a look at Saturn as it was sinking into the west. The image was crisp and bright down to x100 but at x200 the glare on the lens ruined the image. Despite this it was still possible to make out cloud bands on the planets surface.

The Cassini division was difficult to spot even at x200 tonight showing how bad the conditions were, although the planetary disc did yield quite a bit of detail, with bands in the northern hemisphere visible.

Saturn is now high in the south western sky. Whilst waiting for Jupiter to emerge from behind a cloud I put the telescope onto Saturn to see how it was doing. The view, as always, was spectacular. There appeared a lot of detail and colour in both the planet globe and the rings with the Cassini division immediately visible. I could also make out 5 moons.

Saturn also earned a look but the seeing was bad enough by that time to cause it to be swimming badly at x200 though it looked great at x40.

Saturn looked fantastic. With the clock drive working perfectly I was able to follow it at x200 for about 10 minutes. In fact, I looked at it for so long that by the end I could hardly see it because the eyepiece had steamed up with condensation from my eye! It was well worth it though - the Cassini division was strikingly clear and the Encke division was also visible at times. There were 5 objects which could have been stars or moons (more likely the latter), which I should have sketched for subsequent identification.

With much better seeing than the previous night I turned the 'scope back to Saturn. Ever an incredible sight it was brilliant tonight and held up well under x200. After tracking it for over 10 minutes the Cassini Division was faintly coming into view, although it would often disappear only to reappear moments later. Also I could see three moons which were (according to positions in CdC) Titan, Rhea and either Tethys or Dione. Very impressive views.

Now that I had the finderscope aligned I went back to Saturn - absolutely amazing - the seeing wasn't great with lots of atmospheric disturbance but with the 10mm EP I got a nice view of the rings plus Titan and Rhea. With the Barlow (upto x200) it occasionaly looked great but the atmospheric disturbance was terrible and the image was shifting around a lot (clouds were rolling in by this point).

With the sky rapidly clouding over I took a look at M31. Very distinct fuzziness in all eyepieces - even stood up to 200x which shows how much light this thing gulps! Seeing was bad enough to mask details (or it could have been the damn street light opposite).

Now that I had the finderscope aligned I went back to Saturn - absolutely amazing - the seeing wasn't great with lots of atmospheric disturbance but with the 10mm EP I got a nice view of the rings plus Titan and Rhea. With the Barlow (upto x200) it occasionaly looked great but the atmospheric disturbance was terrible and the image was shifting around a lot (clouds were rolling in by this point).

With the sky rapidly clouding over I took a look at M31. Very distinct fuzziness in all eyepieces - even stood up to 200x which shows how much light this thing gulps! Seeing was bad enough to mask details (or it could have been the damn street light opposite).