Titan

[Mad Taff]

Hi

I had fantastic views of Saturn last Thursday night and last night was pretty good too. Just above the planet and slightly to the right I saw a very faint dot. Was this Titan? I couldn't see anything else that looked like moons. I have a Skywatcher Explorer 200p and was using my best eyepiece the 8mm BST which gave me x125. What other of Saturn's moons can I realistically expect to see with my set up? Cheers Phil.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I'm afraid i cant help as when i observe Saturn i only have eyes for the ringed planet.

[Schorhr]

:-)

Try the free Stellarium to see (and forward or reverse to date/time of observation) where each moon should be. Keep in mind that depending on the set up of the telescope simulation that the image may be flipped.

[NGC 1502]

This link http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/3308506.html# will show the positions of Saturn's brightest moons.

From that link, click on 'javascript utility' enter the time & date of your observation. Don't forget to click what type of telescope.

It's possible for background stars to confuse you....

HTH, Ed.

[John]

Titan is easily visible with a small scope. With a larger scopes more moons become viewable - 6 should be possible with an 8 inch scope, with some patience and good seeing conditions. The link that Ed gives above is a good one for telling which moon is which. Stellarium is also useful for finding Iapetus which is generally further away from the planet than the area covered by the Sky & Telescope applet. Stellarium is also useful for identifying any nearby background stars which can be mistaken for moons !

[Ohmless]

pay attention to the stellar appearing objects that are within 5 ring widths as they are often moons.

[LukeSkywatcher]

pay attention to the stellar appearing objects that are within 5 ring widths as they are often moons.

Good to know because i cant tell.

[Mad Taff]

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice. Phil

[umadog]

You will be able to see Tethys, Dione, and Rhea, as these are all in the mag 10 to 11 range. Titan is a magnitude brighter, at 9, so really easy. Enceledus is mag 12, but often close to the planet so hard to see. Mimas is even closer and Mag 13; much tougher, especially now that Saturn's rings are opening up and there's more glare. Lastly, Hyperion lies very far and is almost mag 15. So pretty tough: you'd need dark skies, high power, and a very good chart. So locating Hyperion is much like finding Pluto.

[bingevader]

This link http://www.skyandtel...s/3308506.html# will show the positions of Saturn's brightest moons.

From that link, click on 'javascript utility' enter the time & date of your observation. Don't forget to click what type of telescope.

It's possible for background stars to confuse you....

HTH, Ed.

Nice little utility, thanks!

Cheers

[AndyWB]

For iPhone users there's also an app "SaturnMoons" that show's their locations. Sadly, I can only make out Titan and Rhea (with averted vision) with my scope...