Advice regarding the position of Saturn's moon's.

[Specman]

Hi,

I realised that I posted this in the wrong section of the forum so I'm re-posting here to get other folks opinion if possible.

Here's a copy of my previous post:

I wonder if somebody can help me, a double check really for my log.

On the 10th May at 23:36 I was viewing Saturn through my Nexstar 4SE, its a Mak Cassegrain so the image is the correct way up but reversed from left to right, as viewed through the eyepiece.

Saturn, through the eyepiece was tillted (on the face of a clock) twenty to two. To the right of the rings, about half an arcminute out from the rings was a bright pin head of light which I assume was a moon (up twowards two o'clock).

Now, I have flipped my image orientation as seen with the unaided eye so Saturn is tilted (using the clock face again) ten to four.

My question is which moon do you think I'm viewing? My guess is Titan? Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks in anticipation, clear skies!

Mark

[Cate]

Hi Mark,sounds like it was Titan, it's really clear when you lok at Saturn. Titan is always in line with the rings (or extremely near in line) and is the brightest other object in the eyepiece.Have you tried looking at Stellarium to see where the moons were at that time? If you zoom in on the planet it then shows you the moons too.Hopefully you'll be able to see a couple more moons next time? Especially if you know where to look!

[Specman]

Hi, thanks for the feedback. I thought it might be Titan but wasn't sure. I have the Stellarium software but wasn't aware you could zoom in to see the moons. I've had a look at it but no luck. How do you zoom in on the planet? Ithought you could just use it to see your sky view and track an object.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Clear Skies!

Mark

[Talitha]

Mark, the Castle Point Astronomy Club (CPAC) has a nice planet application you might like... here's the downloadable zip file.

After extracting the files, you can personalize the 'location.dat' file with your location and preferences, and also keep the longitude of Jupiter's GRS current (it's presently 150). Just toggle the time back to identify which of Saturn's or Jupiter's moons you saw during a session. I've been using the app for a number of years and really like it.. it works offline, too. Put a shortcut on your desktop and you're only a click away.

[Specman]

Thanks for the software tip Carol

There is some great stuff about, check this software out, take a while to get to understand it as its a bit technical for a newbie like me but you should have no problems

The time and date stamped animations are fantastic showing the moons orbiting the planets . You can also rewind to any date/time as well as go forward to plan your viewing.

I'm getting to really like it now I've found my way around.

WinJUPOS / Database for object positions on planets and the Sun

Catch you later!

Clear skies!

Mark

[Talitha]

Thanks Mark, i'll definitely check it out.

[Cate]

Great that you've worked it out and found some good sites.

Just for future reference with Stellarium if you find the object (ie Saturn) and click on it and press the space bar then it will centre and track that object. Then use the mouse roller to zoom in and out as far as you want (then it shows you the position of the moons).

[Specman]

Thanks for the great advice Cate!

I had no idea that the Stellarium software had that feature. How cool is that?

Absolutely brilliant, life is simple!

Clear skies!

Mark