Saturn last night...did I see a moon?

[BigBoot]

I was lucky enough to get a view of Saturn around 2am last night.

There was a bright object about 5x the diameter of the rings away from the planet. It was fairly well lined up with the rings, but perhaps a few degrees out? Couldn't tell which side of the planet it was on (can't tell my left from right, or up from down at the moment).

Could it have been a moon?

[lukebl]

Almost certainly Titan, as it was in precisely the position you describe.

[Vox45]

Yes saw it too.

It's Titan (mag 9.04) and it was almost out of the FOV for me.

[Vox45]

You can use Stellarium if you don't already have it. It is free and sooo easy to use (my 5 yrs old use it to find Messier's) ... looks good too

There are other options like Carte Du Ciel or dedicated website to track moons ...

[John]

Titan is readily visible in small scopes. I first saw it with my old 60mm refractor. In larger apertures there are a number of other Saturnian moons that can be seen as well. Your 200mm scope should show 5 at least, once you know where they are.

[BigBoot]

You can use Stellarium if you don't already have it. It is free and sooo easy to use (my 5 yrs old use it to find Messier's) ... looks good too

There are other options like Carte Du Ciel or dedicated website to track moons ...

Thanks, I do have Stellerium, and just had a quick look now. Definitely Titan, but I'm disappointed that I didn't see any other moons.

I didn't see the moons closer to the planet and Iapetus (if it was visible) would have been outside of my field of view.

Just makes me even keener to have another look!

[mikeDnight]

Thanks, I do have Stellerium, and just had a quick look now. Definitely Titan, but I'm disappointed that I didn't see any other moons.

I didn't see the moons closer to the planet and Iapetus (if it was visible) would have been outside of my field of view.

Just makes me even keener to have another look!

With Saturn being as low as it is at the moment, you'd be lucky to make out any of Saturn's other moons. When its higher in the sky it is entirely possible to detect five moons on a good night with a 4" to 5" refractor. The only trouble is it will be some time before Saturn is high in the UK sky.

Mike

[BigBoot]

With Saturn being as low as it is at the moment, you'd be lucky to make out any of Saturn's other moons. When its higher in the sky it is entirely possible to detect five moons on a good night with a 4" to 5" refractor. The only trouble is it will be some time before Saturn is high in the UK sky.

Thanks. Why is it more difficult when they are low in the sky? Is it because you are looking through more atmosphere?

The past couple of nights have been completely overcast, but it looks clear now, so I am going to pop out and see what I can see (far too early for Saturn, of course).

[Stu]

Thanks. Why is it more difficult when they are low in the sky? Is it because you are looking through more atmosphere?

The past couple of nights have been completely overcast, but it looks clear now, so I am going to pop out and see what I can see (far too early for Saturn, of course).

Yes, exactly that. You are looking through far more turbulent air when objects are down low

[BigBoot]

Yes, exactly that. You are looking through far more turbulent air when objects are down low

Thanks, I did actually manage to get a quick look at Saturn tonight, after a great view of Jupiter. Very quick, because a big bank of cloud rolled in, so I called it a night.

I did also get a very good lesson in the effects of turbulent air. I had to move the scope very close to the house to get a view of Saturn, and initially couldn't focus on it at all.

Only after a couple if minutes did it click that I had left the patio doors open, and that my line of sight was straight through all of the escaping warm air. After closing the doors I actually got a reasonably good view...until those clouds rolled in!