The "Wow" moment.....

[pgwenlan]

Just had my first decent view of Saturn with the SW 127 GOTO - fantastic!

And my daughter got to see it for the first time ever - I think the neighbours might have heard the "Oh wow" moment!

Unfortunately it's not truly dark here yet (10pm) and I can't stay out late (early morning...), but it was so worth it!

Only have the SW kit eyepieces, but even the 10mm with the 2x barlow gave reasonable views.

I think some new ep's are in order!! Must start saving - again...

[Albenn]

Know how you feel. It really does have such an impact seeing Saturn for the first time. Such a beautiful and spectacular planet.

[pgwenlan]

And Titan was clear as well. No Cassini, but given the conditions, that's not surprising.

[twotter]

Last night was only the second time I've seen Saturn and the first time was the other year when the rings were almost 'edge' on. This time though was very definitely a 'WOW' moment. Very clear and sharp with a distinct Cassini division and 4 moons to boot

[Kevin C]

I also enjoyed that 'Wow' moment when I saw Saturn for the first time last night (through a telescope).

The 'seeing' was extremely good and gave a very good view of the cassini division and 5 moons through my 8" dob

[8007H]

I know exactly what you mean! Bought my first telescope on Saturday, spent Saturday night just staring in amazement at Saturn. The neighbours must think I'm a lunatic, constantly saying wow or laughing!!

That was using a 20mm lens so it was really small, I'd probably pass out if I was to ever see the rings in detail!!

[iswise]

Yep - there is no doubt that my (and the rest of the family's) first sight of Saturn thru a scope was a true "wow" moment. After 50 odd years interested casually in astronomy, getting a scope for the first time a couple of months back meant I had to wait a long time for mine! And last night (15th May) it was so clear with still atmosphere and Saturn was just magnificent this time - Wow again!! Even saw Titan which was really exciting - I didnt really expect to do that with our little 4SE using 2x magnifier and Celestron 15 eyepiece. (unless someone tells me its imposs to see it withour scope!). Also amazing to see Venus as a thin crescent.

[bobhughes]

I also saw Saturn for the first time and rushed in to get the better half to come and have a look. After the "what now" look from her she was amazed at the view as well.

[Viv]

you always remember that initial wow - had mine 10 years ago, after looking though someone's scope.

Even now, when I see her - she's still wow !!

[Charon]

Saturn always makes me giggle like a schoolboy, it's just the shear joy of viewing this amazing planet.

[The Viper]

i think everyone should see this amazing planet at some point in their lives,the sheer beauty of it blows me away.Infact the school boards should makes sure all children see it before leaving school,as well as the moon and jupiter

[SFlowers]

i think everyone should see this amazing planet at some point in their lives,the sheer beauty of it blows me away.Infact the school boards should makes sure all children see it before leaving school,as well as the moon and jupiter

I completely agree, I work in a school and am planning on doing our own stargazing session in the winter so as many students as possible can get the "wow" factor too

[LukeSkywatcher]

Your first view of Saturn will live with you til the day you die. It simply is a WOW moment.

[Glen]

yep, still gets a gasp!, well done peeps on the first light(s)

[todd8137]

hi from me ,the planets never fail to blow peoples minds they are great i love the time when they come to us ,Venus is a great site at the min and watching its phases are great my daughter as a 90mm goto frac its not great but its pretty accurate at finding things she often looks at the moon it always keeps her quite for hours.its great when the family gets involved

Pat

[Dan Watts]

I've only had my scope since Jan and got to see Saturn one very early morning in Jan/Feb about 5am. Problem was it was quite small with the EP's I had...Even so it blew my mind as well!

Roll on 4 months and I saw it again for the 2nd time last week...OMG!!! Now with my Zoom and Barlow it was massive...I didn't realise how much you can see with an 8" Dob!

Can't wait for more clear skies!!

[freeflyjay]

had my first look a couple of nights ago at 160x mag with my 10"dob (first scope i brought a couple of months back), amazing view, dragged the wife out to have a look as well, was gonna try and get a picture but battery died on the cammera.

[Dan Watts]

had my first look a couple of nights ago at 160x mag with my 10"dob (first scope i brought a couple of months back), amazing view, dragged the wife out to have a look as well, was gonna try and get a picture but battery died on the cammera.

I took a couple of pics with my iPhone and although the detail didn't come out that well it didn't look to bad...Very difficult though with the pin hole of light I had to navigate in the dark coming out the Baader zoom! lol

[Naemeth]

I agree, such a great moment, it's a shame I've only managed to see Saturn once (without Titan..), but for me it's better than seeing Venus (even though that one was a bit of a wow moment).

[JamesM]

Congratulations on a great viewing session. Saturn does have that special place for many of us, and especially for me as it was also the very first object I ever saw through a telescope. I think I nearly passed out and if I remember correctly! :D

James

[freeflyjay]

only had my scope a few months, 250 skywatcher (first scope) the first thing i homed in on was m42, still wanting it to come back around so i can have another look, next time around would love to get some pics, i did try in the few days of good viewing, but a dob and a compact camera donn`t really work with dso`s, but still saturn first look a short while back was just sooooo cool.

[olij92]

I just had my first ever 'Wow!' at Saturn a couple hours ago. I was looking at the lovely cresent Moon until it decided to hide behind my neighbour's chimney, then waited half an hour for it to become darker, then thought I'd have a look for Saturn, at first I thought "Pfff that's pretty poor", then realised I was looking at Spica, then looked slightly up for Saturn and....oh wow, even on my wide view EP, I was stunned, saw 2 moons right beside it, one must have been Titan but I wasn't sure what the other was.

Just wish I was able to take a photo of it.

[Dan Watts]

I manged to get a pic of it last night from my back garden by using my iPhone 3GS (not the best camera). I've attached it below.

The pin hole of light my Baader Zoom with the Barlow at max is really annoying for pictures of planets, doesn't allow you to focus long enough to get the detail of the planets!!...Think I might invest in some wide field EP's...Some Nirvana's would go down nicely

[David JM]

I gave a presentation to a Rotary Club and I was asked what the best thing I had ever seen was. I replied it was the "Oh...my...god" of my mate's ten year old daugher the first time she saw Saturn through my 'scope.

I did some nightclasses in Crayford [the town the focuser is named after] and saw Saturn and Titan thorough a 24" reflector.

[David JM]

I manged to get a pic of it last night from my back garden by using my iPhone 3GS (not the best camera). I've attached it below.

Nice pic with a camera, have you tried taking a video clip and processing the file in RegiStax?