Tethys anyone?

[Cloudwatcher]

I was intrigue by the spot on the rings in Legion 48's Saturn image (Planetary section) and just had to investigate.

After submitting it to 'death by enlargement' and checking Starry Night for the 24th I think he has captured the

shadow of Tethys! I's position could fit the bill. Course I may be totally wrong but if not would this be a first on the Forum?

Maybe some others would like to check it out? Oh...apologies to Legion 48 for 'arf inching'your image.

[barkis]

That's a great bit of detective work Sherlock. If it turns out to be Tethys that is. It shares an orbit with two other bodies in the crepe ring, and their orbits are peculiar to say the least, something called the Lagrangian points. Bit beyond me I am afraid. No doubt someone with a knowledge of celestial mechanics will clear that up for us. Anyway CW, I guess the answer as to whether that is Tethys's shadow needs to be verified.. We need the exact date and time I suppose. The problem is, we can't just say it, if it isn't. Reputations would be tarnished.

Over to you me lad.

Barkis.

[legion48]

Well spotted Cloudwatcher, I wondered when someone would notice. I had spent 7 months trying to bag the elusive Tethys and had an idea that

on the 24th the conditions would favour.....

Who am I trying to kid! I had never heard of Tethys until your post. :? It would be ironic if it did actually turn out to be Tethys though, as I've

spent hours and hours trying to process out what I thought was - and probably is - a blemish.

[Cloudwatcher]

That's a great bit of detective work Sherlock.

Elementary,my dear Watson. The date we know,it's on the image. As for time,it was clearly taken after sunset and

before Saturn vanished below the observer's horizon as seen,one assumes,from somewhere in Essex. A fast forward

on the jolly old Starry Night prog' and the best candidate is Tethys!

However, as you say,reputations are at stake!! What we need to solve "The Case of The Black Spot" is.... to use a

modern idem....more feed back.

Your Obedient Servant,

Sherlock.

[Cloudwatcher]

Ooops! Sorry legion48 I was away from the keyboard for a while and failed to check screen before posting the Sherlock piece!

As best as I can tell the 'spot' is not a blemish. I inverted the image and checked the frame at increased resolution to see

if anything similar showed up, with negative results. Still, I'm sure you know best but even if it is an artifact I'd leave it alone.

Hope you didn't mind my tinkering.

Regards

CW

[barkis]

Well spotted Cloudwatcher, I wondered when someone would notice. I had spent 7 months trying to bag the elusive Tethys and had an idea that

on the 24th the conditions would favour.....

Who am I trying to kid! I had never heard of Tethys until your post. :? It would be ironic if it did actually turn out to be Tethys though, as I've

spent hours and hours trying to process out what I thought was - and probably is - a blemish.

I presume the image is a stacked web cam build L48, in which case the software would have got rid of a spot on the cam chip. I think it was Gaz who explained that to me, when I said my cam had some spots on the chip.

It would be a great coup if it did turn out to be Tethys, I have never seen a Saturnian moon shadow on the rings on a ground based scope image. I know Tethys's diameter is only small, about 1000Km I think. It's orbit about 295,000Km. That spot seems a bit large, but hey, that is not a disqualifier. It should be easy enough to establish all the parameters necessary to say whether or not the shadow is, or not, that of Tethys. If it is, I reckon you would join the list of published members.

Ron.

[legion48]

Hope you didn't mind my tinkering.

Regards

CW

Not at all mate, I'm very grateful to you for pointing it out. I must admit though that I don't have any idea how to go about getting confirmation, one way or the other. :?

Does anyone know?

BTW, details of the capture are as follows:

3 avi's taken between 22:18 and 22:25 on 24th May 2007 from Harlow, Essex.

The 3 original avi's have been appended into 1 avi via VirtualDub.

[Kain]

I'm thinking it might be Enceladus..

I'm struggling to believe that we would pick up on a tiny shadow of Tethys from this distance with amature scopes...I could be miles out though..

Just a thought really.

Kain

[GazOC]

According to Starry Night Pro, Tethys is the prime suspect.

Legion, try watching the .avi in Media Player, does the spot move with the planet or stay on the same spot on the chip? If its the former then you've captured something interesting, if its the latter then Registax should have lost it in the stacking unless you aligned on the spot or used it a reference frame.

[Astroman]

According to my Saturn Satellite simulator, Tethys is in the correct position, but on the wrong side of the planet to cast a shadow on the ring. It may be a smaller moon closer in that doesn't show up on my simulator, but I'll look a bit more.

[Cloudwatcher]

According to my Saturn Satellite simulator, Tethys is in the correct position, but on the wrong side of the planet to cast a shadow on the ring. It may be a smaller moon closer in that doesn't show up on my simulator, but I'll look a bit more.

Oh dear,how sad. So it's not Tethys shadow after all. Fear not Legion, all is not lost!

Subjecting your image to further indignities I superimposed it on the Starry Night screen

for the time of imaging and......Up popped Janus! :shock: Janus was 'Up-Sun' of Saturn by

.0008 AU at the time and appears to be in the right orientation to cast a Shadow. Perhaps

Astroman and or others with more sophisticated techniques might check it out?

CW

[proflight2000]

id be chuffed just to be able to get a picture of Saturn

[Cloudwatcher]

id be chuffed just to be able to get a picture of Saturn

Best hurry shipmate she's asinking fast!

[Whippy]

Yaaaarr me hearties, she's going down faster than thee Titanic says I Ya-Harrr..

erm... TAXI!!!!!

[Astroman]

There ya go, CW. A check of minor planets confirms Janus as the shadow-caster. ("Strat-o-caster"?) 8)

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Wow. How cool is that!

I'm going to check what I'm actually shooting from now on, those dust bunnies might be something much more interesting.

Great capture CW, bet that's a first on here.

Captain Chaos

[SteelRat]

Been readin this one and waitin for the result - well spotted and worked out CW.

I agree with CC - that is WELL cool mate 8)

[barkis]

Well done indeed C Dubya. It just goes to show, if you view optically, or you take pictures, you really have to pay attention to what is there.

There is a science involved here. It is nice to admire the view via whatever means, but sometimes the data has info you have to delve for.

I am sure verification that Janus is the moon is forthcoming, then I will toast your discovery with a large Grouse.

Good man.

Ron.

[Cloudwatcher]

Well, what can I say to all you wonderful folk out there (wipes tear from eye)....I'd like to thank Mom & Dad,(another tear)my Agent, the production team,the tea lady and.........What am I saying!

Let's hear it for Legion. It's his coup (how about special picture of the week award?) and Astroman for his expertise! :D

Cheers

CW

P.S. Keep checking those pics guys!

[barkis]

Well, what can I say to all you wonderful folk out there (wipes tear from eye)....I'd like to thank Mom & Dad,(another tear)my Agent, the production team,the tea lady and.........What am I saying!

Let's hear it for Legion. It's his coup (how about special picture of the week award?) and Astroman for his expertise! :D

Cheers

CW

P.S. Keep checking those pics guys!

Aw shucks, don't start with the Gwynneth Paltrow gushy gushy stuff. Stiff upper lip and all that. Ehhehehe.

[Astroman]

The more you look, the more you see is my mantra. Don't worry so much about filters or more magnification before you learn what to look for.

[Cloudwatcher]

Succinctly put Astroman and many thanks again for your Time. Your a star. :sunny:

Regards

CW

[legion48]

What can I say? I'm gobsmacked. :shock: A very special thanks must go to Cloudwatcher who suspected all was not right in the first place and spent much time and trouble in tracking down the culprit. Thanks as well to Astroman for confirming the culprit and thanks to everyone else who's input and interest helped keep the seach alive.

[SteelRat]

Great shot in the first place 48. 130 on eq2 with RA drive and a toucam catches moon shadow on Saturns rings? Great setup and good work mate.

[Cloudwatcher]

What can I say? I'm gobsmacked. :shock: A very special thanks must go to Cloudwatcher who suspected all was not right in the first place and spent much time and trouble in tracking down the culprit. Thanks as well to Astroman for confirming the culprit and thanks to everyone else who's input and interest helped keep the seach alive.

Aaah.....Bless! (reaches for tissues) Yours is the hour,Legion and if your celebrating have one,no three for me!

Cheers

CW