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Wow, just wow! (Oh, and a first light report…)

Spec-Chum

By Spec-Chum
in Observing - Reports

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jflowers

jflowers

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Nothing quite like that first view of Saturn, its like, can I actually see what I am seeing!! Jupiter will do the same when you get that later in the year. The Orion nebula too, oh and... Ok lots of other stuff to see now, but you will never forget that moment :)

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Scott

Scott

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Fantastic report mate. when you mentioned your disappointment of seeing saturn as just a dot i was thinking to myself " oh no he's got the wrong object". should know better and wait for the end of the movie, (there's always a twist) :smiley: What I love about saturn is when I've had a disappointing night searching without luck for galaxies,she's always there to cheer me up. the first time I saw saturn i wrote a report (not half as eliquent as yours) and raved about seeing the moons and markings on the planet and totally forgot to mention the rings :icon_redface: glad you had a great night and i'm sure there will be many, many more

Scott

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dharma66

dharma66

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Thanks for the great feedback, but I must apologise for the typos, I did speelchock ( :) ) but it misses words that are spelt correctly but are totally out of context lol

For example:

"I literally spent the rest of the night just lovely staring at it" doesn't even make sense lol (obviously should have been lovingly haha)

I like the typos. They help get the excitement across!!

One of the best observing reports I ever read. I remember my first sight of Saturn in my old 4.5" newt. I can't wait for my dob to arrive now, after reading your post!

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mdstuart

mdstuart

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Just an amazing report....Next time you look se if you can see the moon Titan next to Saturn which adds another dimension..

Yes Spica is the other star..

Try Albeiro the star at the bottom of the cross of cynus..So this cross is on its side its rising in the East with Albeiro the bottom star...fainter than Saturn but still fairly easy with the naked eye..Its below Vega!...You should see a lovely pair of stars about 2mm apart.One a rich blue colour and one a lovely orange..The colours are amazing..a bit like two minute LED lights ...another WOW but perhaps smaller than Saturn..

Mark

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CFC

CFC

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Posted

Saturn is magic.

First time I saw it I could have sworn someone had made a cut out and stuck it on the end of the scope...looked too good to be true :)

First clear night in weeks, scope is outside chilling down now...Saturn is my target again for a bit of viewing before bed.

Curse work tomorrow! ;)

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Skybrowser

Skybrowser

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As an Evertonian I wouldn't begrudge even a Liverpool fan the sheer excitement at seeing what I firmly believe is the most spectacular sight in the sky! What a great first light report. The 10mm eyepiece is pants really and you will see a big difference with the one you've ordered. Try for a better Barlow if budget allows and the TAL ones are great value, very solidly built - if you can get your hands on one just now.

Your passion and enthusiasm are very common, as is the emotion of seeing Saturn clearly and "live" for the first time. You will never tire of seeing it. A couple of years ago, the views weren't that great as they were more or less side on, but Saturn has shifted a bit for us all the see those rings. We had friends from Argentina staying at our house recently and I got the 200P out for them to see Saturn. They couldn't believe it and the photo we processed was a cracker too.

Good luck with all your future viewing from a Bluenose.

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glowjet

glowjet

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Posted

Hi Russ, I really did enjoy reading your first observation of Saturn and your infectious enthusiasm, I am sure many others feel it as well. I am looking forward to further reports, however, we are in the Beginners Help and Advise section and therefore could I please ask, if you do a follow up, which I hope you do, then this would be more in keeping placed in the Obs section of the forum. Enjoy your Astronomy which I am sure you will :)

John.

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Bart

Bart

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Russ,Good luck and enjoy!

Bart

Fantastic report. Hope you have many nights like that. Its a voyage of discovery, enjoy those solitary, quiet nights where things fall from the sky into your lap!

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Ad Astra

Ad Astra

Posted
Posted

Hi Russ!

Glad to see you got the spelling right, mate... it's SATURN!!!! (all caps - plenty of exclamation points at the end!) :)

My first view through a real telescope was many decades ago, the local vicar showed me Saturn thorugh his 80mm Unitron refractor (a lovely machine!). I was just 10 years old - and the fascination hasn't ever left me. I still take advantage of the ringed giant whenever it is in the sky and I never, ever get tired of the view. Saturn is what made me primarily a planetary/lunar observer, and that is still where my heart is.

Ring structure (Cassini gap and such) and moons should be your next goals for Saturn. The rings are very open this year (but will get a bit better in the next couple of years) and this makes Saturn brighter and shows off ring structure. You can even see the shadow of the rings on the planet occasionally, and vice versa if you are lucky. If you get to feeling really cocky, try to see the planet through the Cassini gap - you can tell where it changes from black to a pale cream color (or sometimes disappears altogether!). There is always more to see and rave about.

If you are a methodical bloke, you make like my Saturn Observer's Log, <LINK!> developed to help the students in my astronomy classes get over the jaw-dropping beauty of it all and record some scientific data at the EP... you would be amazed (or mayby not!) at how many kids go out to do the Saturn lab and just spend the entire night just goggling at the EP! :Envy:

Welcome to the ranks of the enchanted, may your delight never fade! I love it so much I'm making Saturn the setting for my next book: Ice Miners of Saturn! :evil5:

Dan

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scuffer

scuffer

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Excellent post russ , Saturn is THE wow moment for me , Jupiter will be stunning as well , not sure where you got the clear sky from though - that was sheer luck , I looked out at 11.30 last night and could see 1 star and lots of cloud , getting cheesed off with this weather now , I want Saturn !

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Mogga

Mogga

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Posted

Great post as so many have pointed out. This can only be because of they way everyone else felt when they first saw Saturn. My first view was only a few weeks ago on the day I got my Expolorer 200p and was treated to 2 nights of clear skies (none since mind). I ran into the house to share my excitement - It is fair to say my family did not appreicate my enthusiasm, I will beat it out of them soon. :smiley:

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yayo4ya

yayo4ya

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Posted

Great story Russ. I recently purchased a Nexstar 6se and I couldnt even speak when I first saw Saturn. I think what made it more "real" was seeing a few moons with it. I live in an apartment in NYC and it was looking past a street light, over another apartment building, it was still a great sight. I think i sat in the chair for hours just looking at Saturn and nothing else. The link below is to my first attempt at using a modified webcam to get a pic.

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/9513/saturnh.png

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