Saturn 9th June

[Qualia]

Saturn always presents a spectacular sight in the eyepiece whether at low power or higher magnifications but I do find it quite a frigid planet when comparing it to the gas giant, Jupiter. To my eye, it doesn't surrender nearly so much astmospheric detail or activity and I imagine that after the first initial hit of its beauty, some observers may feel a tad disappointed. 

Earlier on in the week I was fortunate to have experienced some excellent seeing conditions which allowed me to observe quite some detail on Saturn but I failed to sketch the planet simply because the effort required was too much of a compromise at the time. To make up for this I decided that I would dedicate a good hour or so observing the planet this evening and try my hand at a little sketch. 

The seeing this evening, like the sketch itself was a little wobbly but there were enough moments of good seeing to pick out some detail, often at the threshold of vision.

The rings themselves were clearly defined and it was quite easy to pick out the A, B and C rings. Of interest was the clear brightening of the B ring about 2/3^rds out from the C ring towards the Cassini Division. The Encke Gap continues to elude even at 300x.

On the planet itself the North Polar Cap (NPC) stood out quite clearly, exhibiting a dusky hue in contrast to the planet itself and a number of zones and belts were clearly discernable. I'm still not that clued up on what exactly I'm seeing but I think it is the North North Temperate Zone (NNTZ) which appears quite bright while just above it is the dark shadow of the C Ring. A number of Saturn's moons were also noted and hopefully have been identified correctly.

Needless to say, the sketch is quite rough and like the seeing, rather wobbly. Second to lunar work, I find Saturn quite difficult. I don't have the right colours to sketch it well, and my hand is just too rough and heavy for such a delicate jewel of the night sky.

Anyway, hopefully it'll inspire others to try their hand

[alan potts]

Great start Rob first I have seen from you, I guess in Spain the planet is a little higher than for me, it must be very low back home though, what is your latitude mine is 42 degrees?

I am still being vexed on a regular basis by the weather, Put the scope out about an hour before dusk in a clear sky and without fail the clouds could be seen within minutes amassing over to the SE, the weather is not coming from the normal direction. I got 30 minutes on Jupiter and Venus but that was about it. Packed up and an hours later, clear as a bell. I went to bed steam coming from my ears.

[cotterless45]

Neat post Rob !

Twilight hours provided some of the best seeing . Saturn cracked into knife edge at x300.

Best views in the "yard cannon" were using a Vixen old school x2 Barlow and an 8mm flat field ep from Skys the limit. Without filters or aperture reduction , the rings showed three zones and lots of disc surface details.

Certainly lots to look at waiting for useable darkness,

Nick.

[Stu]

Great post Rob, some cracking detail coming through there.

You did well to get Mimas so close to the rings. I must get the VX10L out for a shot at it soon.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Great report and lovely sketch

[Qualia]

Wow! Thank you. I never expected such a warm set of replies from what is essentially quite a dodgy sketch Thank you.

I'm not that happy with the sketch, the colours are wrong and the lines aren't that sharp, but in a sense this isn't really the point. It is more about an exercise in observing, giving the planet a little more attention and seeing what can be tweaked. 

I'm just under 39º latitude, Alan, so I imagine we have a similar experience of Saturn. Although low, I find that so long as an object is over the troubled front line of 20º or so, seeing should be sufficiently settled. At around 30º above the horizon, if Satrun's seeing is rough, it is typically rough everywhere.

I agree, Nick that the air seems more settled in the early hours. I usually can't start observing until 1am during the working week, so by that time the sky has had time to relax and the skies are sufficiently dark. Although we are enjoying around 16hrs of sunlight each day, it isn't the natural light that is my problem over the summer, but more the general state of LP and the misty clouds that build up each night.

Mimas was quite bright last night, Stu and wasn't hard to see. I will need a more detailed program in the future, for there were a number of other faint star like objects spotted near Saturn. I imagine they were stars and so weren't included in the final sketch, but it would be nice to be sure. It's my b/day soon (Gemini like Nick...tall, dark, handsome, intelligent etc etc ) so may be able to sort something out.

Thank you again for the kind and supportive posts

[David Smith]

Nice report Qualia and a great sketch. My Saturn sketches always look like they were drawn by the dog or something   I'm glad I am not the only one who struggles to see detail in Saturn. I always enjoy the view but details on the planet itself are always scarce for me even when it is at a decent altitude.

[scarp15]

Good initial working sketch recording that session, good to see how your Saturn and accompanying moon sketches evolve from here.

[des anderson]

Great sketch,if i could be half as good as that    I would be CHUFFFFFED to say the least......Also great report

[John]

Really good observing report and sketch Rob

I've spotted Enceladus a few times but not Mimas thus far. Good work to pick it out despite the glare from the ring system

[mariosi]

Excellent presentation and very nice sketch!

Marios

[acr_astro]

Hi Rob,

what a wonderful sketch!

Achim