Mimas at Saturn ?

[John]

Really good seeing conditions with my ED120 on Saturn this evening.

As well as Titan, Rhea, Tethys, Dione and Iapetus I think I am getting some occasional glimpses of the magnitude 13 Mimas now and again. Mimas seems to lie on the Rhea side of the A+B ring system, just a touch S of the equatorial line of the planets disk and about the same distance from the edge of the A ring as the total width of the A+B rings together, if that makes any sense.

I'm using 300x-360x to get these glimpses. That is a little more than I need for the sharpest Saturn views but it helps tease out the fainter points of light.

I'm hoping to get clearer sightings of Mimas as Saturn rises but if anyone else is out with a medium to larger aperture scope and can confirm or deny Mimas, I've be very interested to hear from them 🙂

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by John

[Matthew]

I was out this evening John with a 11" SCT, but Saturn is a little low for me to observe in any detail from home so unfortunately I cant help you confirm or deny Mimas. It has always  been my favourite celestial object and I am going to a nice dark site Tuesday that will give me the chance to observe it properly, thanks for posting your experience.

[John]

According to Stellarium modelling Mimas has just (in the last hour or so) passed the point of greatest elongation from the planet / rings so will be moving back inwards, and therefore become harder to see) over the coming hours. 

The mist is rising in the south now and even the mag 10 moons are hard to spot so I'll have to wait for a further favourable elongation to try again. Quite encouraged though 🙂

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by John