First sighting of Saturn

[rev_dom]

Last night was the second clear(ish) night since I've owned a telescope, so I was very excited to get into the back garden and hunt for Saturn. After a lot of searching (I'm new to this!) I managed to find it, and my first sight was so exciting! I could clearly see the rings, although there was no sign of the Cassini division that I could see.

The viewing conditions weren't great - lots of hazy cloud and atmospheric wobble (I think that's the correct technical term!), but it was amazing to see it nonetheless.

I also spent some time looking at Venus and Jupiter, and a brief spell watching the moon before it sunk away.

Why did nobody introduce me to astronomy sooner?!

[Piero]

Welcome to this forum, 

Saturn is one of the best targets in the sky and the first view of this planet is a wonderful memory for many people! 

Also the moon is waxing now, so if you like this target too, now is a nice moment to see it. 

As next step, I would suggest you Sky and Telescope's pocket star atlas and turn left to Orion as references. They will keep you busy for a long while!

Piero

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Congrats on that first sighting. Saturn is very special. What scope do you have?

[rev_dom]

I have a Skywatcher 200 / 1000 on an eq5 mount. I got it for my birthday about a week ago, and I'm absolutely loving it!

[JonC]

I think seeing Saturn is one of those real eye opening moments that gets people interested in astronomy. Hopefully have a go at imagining it soon myself.

[stevend]

Inspired by Wednesday's twilight ride home from the pub on my mountainbike, with the lovely triangle of a 2 day old Moon, Venus and Jupiter above as I rode over the hills, I decided to check out Saturn on Thursday.

A similar experience to yourself. I went out at 2300 with Saturn in the S/SE sky and also found that the conditions were not that good. I started at 100x and could go no higher, then managed 125x before calling it a night. No Cassini division either but the angle of the rings is very good. With Saturn now in opposition, I am hoping for at least one good night over the bank holiday weekend.

[Norfolk star gazer]

I had clear skies here in Norfolk on Wednesday night and got my best ever view of Saturn (only had my scope about a month) and I could just make out the Cassini division if I stared long enough at it and it was so bright and clear, but it was such a good night, that I was also on the lookout for Messiers. Then the clouds rolled in and I called it a night. Typically it was cloudy last night, but also hoping for a couple of clear nights over the long weekend

[spike95609]

I was also out last night for only my second glimpse of Saturn with my scope. I wish I had bought it last year when Saturn was in a perfect position for my garden, as it is it's now very low on the horizon and I only have about an hour window as it passes between two trees. I was a bit rushed and my scope had a cool down time of a whole 10 minutes before I had to dive in. Nice enough but not great to begin with, but the image started to settle a few minutes before Saturn was going to drift out of view and I got a much sharper view with the Cassini DIvision being quite clear, before that suggestions of it had been fading in and out. My weather's been rubbish for weeks, but I'm hopeful there will be gaps tonight, and this time I'll go looking for moons!

[rev_dom]

I was also out last night for only my second glimpse of Saturn with my scope. I wish I had bought it last year when Saturn was in a perfect position for my garden, as it is it's now very low on the horizon and I only have about an hour window as it passes between two trees. I was a bit rushed and my scope had a cool down time of a whole 10 minutes before I had to dive in. Nice enough but not great to begin with, but the image started to settle a few minutes before Saturn was going to drift out of view and I got a much sharper view with the Cassini DIvision being quite clear, before that suggestions of it had been fading in and out. My weather's been rubbish for weeks, but I'm hopeful there will be gaps tonight, and this time I'll go looking for moons!

I'm getting to the point where I'm going to settle for gaps, too - the skies in April (when I was waiting for my telescope to be unwrapped) were beautifully clear, but since my birthday it's been cloudy and miserable nearly the whole time. Perhaps buying a new telescope is a bit like cleaning the car - you're bound to cause bad weather afterwards. If so, sorry everyone!

[Norfolk star gazer]

I'm lucky in my location as I can see Saturn from around 10.30 (when it clears my neighbours roof) until about 2am (unless I go to bed before then of course)!

I looked at it for about 30 minutes last night, but found that it wasn't as clear as it was a few nights ago. It seemed to have a shimmering haze to it. It was a warm day here, so the atmosphere that low must have been warm.

I could make out the Cassini division though..

[spike95609]

The sky wasn't so good last night, lots of vapour trails all over the place. Still I got a fair view of Saturn. Ever so slightly short of it being clear enough to make out the Cassini Division, it felt like it wanted to appear at any moment but never quite did. I looked for moons instead. I saw Titan, Rhea, Dione briefly and Tethys very briefly. The weather has indeed been awful lately, these three consecutive nights of looking at Saturn are the first sessions I've been able to manage for about 6 weeks. It doesn't look like it's going to improve any time soon. Keep checking for gaps in the cloud - I use the local weather map on the Met Office site with the "cloud cover" layer switched on, and check it agains FLOs http://clearoutside.com/. Between the two I end up with a reasonable idea of what's going to happen tonight.

[rev_dom]

I use the local weather map on the Met Office site with the "cloud cover" layer switched on, and check it agains FLOs http://clearoutside.com/. Between the two I end up with a reasonable idea of what's going to happen tonight.

Thank you - I was already using the Met Office one, but hadn't come across the other one! It looks incredibly helpful, and I hope it's accurate coz if so I might be able to get out tomorrow night!

[spike95609]

Accuracy comes and goes, as do all weather charts I suppose, but I've found it's best used in conjunction with the Met Office one.