Saturn at 31 degrees in Algarve

[GavStar]

Just got back from a lovely 10 days in Portugal. Also managed for the first time to sneak out abroad my TV85 (as per recent travel kit thread pics) with me!

I had limited opportunities for observing so with Saturn so low in the UK for many years I decided to concentrate on taking advantage of the 'relative' high altitude.

I had a decent horizon over the sea but the first night had awful seeing with just a very blurry image. However the second attempt another night was lovely with a good steady image at 120x in my Leica zoom with extender. The significant tilting of the rings gave the planet a 3D effect and I got good views of the Cassini division and some banding on the planet itself. As always could have done with more aperture but I was quietly impressed with the tv85.

Saturn doesn't hit 31 degrees in the UK until 2024 so it was great to get an early opportunity. Best views I've had of Saturn - this planet has been a real struggle for me since I started this hobby in 2013...

[John]

Nice report Gavin

My best ever views of Saturn were quite a few years back with a C8 SCT. Saturn was up in Leo back then !