Saturn

[twelly27]

As I'm new to all this I was wondering what's the earliest Saturn will be rising? Will I still need to be going out early morning to get a view?

And will it rise early enough to get as high as Jupiter can get at around midnight?

Regards

Chris

[long_arms]

At the moment Saturn is rising very late (or early however you wish to think of it ), I have been out there around 4-5 am recently for observing and attempting to image it.

Soon it will be available much earlier at a reasonable time though, but I don't think its going to be as high as Jupiter

Dan

[John]

Hi Chris,

Have you got the Stellarium freeware planetarium package ?

You can set your location in it and it will tell you stuff like this for all manner of astro objects.

From a quick look at my version of Stellarium it looks like Saturn is rising around about 1 am and it highest around 4 am. It's not as high in the sky as Jupiter by any means though. Rather low compared to last year I think.

[twelly27]

Thanks for that, I've got an iPad app called sky walk and it gives me rise and setting times, but ill look into that right now, that sounds like a very handy bit of software, and I'm happy to know it will eventually get earlier, I'm unable to get out at the times like 3-4 in the morning due to work and so on, but thanks for the info appreciate it a lot.

Regards

Chris

[long_arms]

I just had a look at by June it will be around its highest at midnight approximately!

After the last couple of months of getting up at a horrendous time just in the hope for a glance...that is music to my... eyes (?).

[twelly27]

Great! By then with some look I might have a EQ mount and be better at webcam/photography.

stellarium is brilliant! Fast forward time to get the rise time and so on brilliant tip to tell me thanks for that!

Regards

Chris

[Steep]

Our problem up North is that by June it doesn't get properly dark even at midnight and that can make seeing difficult.

[nephilim]

Saturn reaches opposition at the end of April & will be at around Mag +0.34 (around 1am) but wont get above 30degrees, I've been told to make the most of it as it'll be a good few years before it'll be as good as this again. I'd strongly recommend you make the effort as I saw it for the first time through my scope a couple of weeks ago (5am) & the sight is breathtaking.

Steve

[Dunkster]

Definitely make the most of it this year, as over the next few years opposition is creeping into the summer with the associated low altitude ecliptic. Won't really improve until we'll into the 2020s

Jupiter, on the other hand, should be excellent again this year It will also be moving towards opposition in summer for a few years, but will pull back out of it quicker because of its faster orbit.

I should add that it doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try - it might be more challenging with the low altitude but it's still an awesome sight.... just remember that it's going to get better after it gets worse

[twelly27]

Ahh I see, ill have to hope clear skies fall on a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday nights then due to work, I start later on those days, unfortunately here in Yorkshire it looks to be raining for a while but after all the info you have given me ill try my best to get out and see, if its as brilliant as when I first saw Jupiter then it will be amazing, thanks for all the info.

Regards

Chris

[Dunkster]

Reciting my experience, repeated viewing of Jupiter did not adequately prepare me for my first view of Saturn but maybe that's just me

[M4lcs67]

You'll never forget your first view of Saturn. I remember mine a couple of years ago. A friend of mine had lent me his 40 year old reflector. My brother and I set it up in my back garden and started randomly scanning the sky. All of a sudden this blurry image hoved into view. It was unmistakably Saturn with it's rings on display. My brother and I were leaping around in the garden going nuts with excitement. If anybody had seen us, they must have though we were bonkers.

A truly magical moment.

[Gomtuu]

My first view of Saturn was as it rose above Dartmoor (I was using a goto so it was tracking it behind the moor).

Watching Saturn-rise was like something from a sci-fi movie. Awesome!

[twelly27]

All this talk of how you all remember the first time is getting me excited! I hope I get a view with the rings ill be so happy

[Dunkster]

If there's one thing that stands out about Saturn, it's definitely the rings

[nephilim]

Ahh I see, ill have to hope clear skies fall on a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday nights then due to work, I start later on those days, unfortunately here in Yorkshire it looks to be raining for a while but after all the info you have given me ill try my best to get out and see, if its as brilliant as when I first saw Jupiter then it will be amazing, thanks for all the info.

Regards

Chris

Jupiter is an amazing sight through the scope & I remember my first view very well & always go back to it each time im out observing. But for me, Saturn is in a completly different league, no words can give it justice, you see all the photo's & in the sci-fi films you see countless ringed planets, but once you have Saturn in view with your own eyes it'll stay with you forever, just the distance (never less than 1.2 Billion! miles away) is staggering, it really looks unreal, as if someone had put a sticker on my EP This was my report afterwards, if u get a spare 5mins http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/176124-saturn-first-time-at-5am/ For as long as Saturn is viewable & we have clear skies ( so never then ), i'll be out viewing it, hopefully i'll be able to image it before it starts its long journey away from us again.

Steve

[twelly27]

I'm the same with Jupiter, everytime I'm out ill have a good old look at it that's the first planet I've seen and it blew me away same with the moon, the moon was the first thing I looked at with my scope Christmas Day, it's a shame I've got be patient with everything it's such an amazing hobby to have, and I'm like I must see this and must see that, my telescope is without a doubt the best thing I've ever owned, and I don't think ill ever get bored of this hobby, everytime I go out even though I see the same things it still feels like my first time, I've tried to sort my sisters old webcam out so I'm gunna give that a go next time. And I'm trying to master astrophotography I never knew how difficult it would be at first, and expensive when I learn it all etc I'm going to need to invest in an EQ Mount and its not cheap, that's the down side to the hobby but when I think about it, it's all worth while

[M4lcs67]

I can confirm that you can see Saturn from Yorkshire.

[Dunkster]

My advice would be to get to grips with visual first as there's so much to see (depending on your interests!) and we get so few opportunities to go out. AP is something you can read about on the cloudy nights, and practice technique with your mount. Personally, while I'm pretty sure I'll get into AP sooner or later, I'm just loving the views I get of planets, clusters and otherwise

[nytecam]

As I'm new to all this I was wondering what's the earliest Saturn will be rising? Will I still need to be going out early morning to get a view? And will it rise early enough to get as high as Jupiter can get at around midnight? Regards Chris

Freeware Cartes du Ciel chart for tonight shows Saturn rising in SE before 1AM