"It looks cartoony"

[Moonshane]

Hi all

I had some family round last night and put out a scope so they could have a quick look at Mars and hopefully Saturn. The title quote I thought was lovely and came from the mouth of my seven year old nephew on seeing the rings and disc of Saturn for the first time.

What he meant was that it looked like it had been drawn and stuck inside the telescope and coincidentally, this is almost what my wife said when she saw it for the first time too. Like I had dangled a tiny drawing on the end of the scope!

Both my nephew and his mum and dad were amazed that you could see such detail on Saturn including the moons and the Cassini division. They also saw Mars which albeit less impressive (to them) was also "cartoony"; all managed to see the polar cap at least!

[JamesF]

I've always thought that Saturn has an air of "unreality" about it, so I can understand their feelings. One of the things that I always enjoy when I look at Saturn is the "little voice" in the back of my mind saying "nothing that looks like that can possibly be real" whilst at the same time knowing that it is.

James

[RobH]

Funny you should say that!!

We had a friend's sister, neice and her 2 sons ( 9 and 12) round the other night.....they also were amazed by Saturn and said it looked like a cartoon.....a brilliant night

Rob

[Moonshane]

It really does take your breath away when the seeing sharpens every now and again!

[Moonshane]

Funny you should say that!!

We had a friend's sister, neice and her 2 sons ( 9 and 12) round the other night.....they also were amazed by Saturn and said it looked like a cartoon.....a brilliant night

Rob

it's great when they are so interested - he wanted to keep returning to Saturn - it's such a stunning sight.

[scarp15]

Interesting, the animation aspect is quite plausible, I am taking my scope with me to a family visit next weekend just outside Blackpool, where I have a nephew who is expressing an interest in astronomy, I look forward to his comments (sky permitting).

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

Everyone i show says that, and i'd be lying if i said i didnt think the same...

[jkwhinfrey]

My wife saw Saturn for the first time last night and her comment - "looks like a picture stuck onto the sky"... and she's got a point.

It's one of my favourite sights though, just a pity it's so low this year. I only get about 10 minutes to look at it before it disappears behind nearby houses