Saturn at opposition

[carlos_dfc]

Tonight (10th Feb 2007) Saturn reaches opposition.

The point at which the Sun, Earth and Saturn are in a straight line - and therefore Daturn is at it's closest point to us this year.
The main advantage for astronomers is that it will appear at it's biggest size in the eyepiece of a trelescope.
As with all planets, best time to observe it is when it is at it's highest point in the sky (at a steeper angle you are looking through less of our atmosphere - so the telscopic images are clearer and steadier) Highest point is when the planet is due South - and at opposition, this occurs at midnight (GMT)

Too see it at it's best, it's not imperative to see Saturn TONIGHT though - Saturn comes to, and fades from, opposition quite slowly - so you still get very good views for a good few weeks either side of opposition.
I've already had some nice views o Saturn over the past few weeks (especially the other night, when it was less than 10 arcminutes from the Moon, and I could see both Saturn and a portion of the Moon in the same telescope field of view) - Looks like I'm gonna be clouded out tonight, but still looking forward to some more nice views of Saturn over the coming weeks.

One of the guys over at my own little forum was imaging Saturn the other night - very nice pic...
ASTRO-CHAT - :: View topic - Saturn

[Jolanta Zofia Nowak]

No chance here, by the look of it, Carlos. Total overcast. Shame.

[Madz]

I haven't observed it yet this year so I didn't realise it was now at opposition. I knew it was sometime in the spring because it's in Leo. I was hoping it would be a bit warmer as I'd promised some friends a view through the telescope. It's always amazing!!!

Madz

[cannylad]

Well if it ever stops raining i will try to see it, as i have never knowingly see a planet

[Madz]

SkyTonight.com - This Week's Sky at a Glance

Hi, cannylad. The above link might help. It's the Sky and Telescope website which is excellent for finding stuff in the sky and observing in general. There are probably other sky charts on the net to 'google' which will help you find planets.

One tip is that planets don't twinkle like stars - they're just very bright points of light.

If you can, find a friend with a telescope or see if any local astronomy clubs do public star parties. But even finding Jupiter in good binoculars will show you its four attendant moons, and Saturn will be a yellowy ellipse-shaped point of light.

Have fun

Madz

[cannylad]

Originally Posted by Madz

SkyTonight.com - This Week's Sky at a Glance

Hi, cannylad. The above link might help. It's the Sky and Telescope website which is excellent for finding stuff in the sky and observing in general. There are probably other sky charts on the net to 'google' which will help you find planets.

One tip is that planets don't twinkle like stars - they're just very bright points of light.

If you can, find a friend with a telescope or see if any local astronomy clubs do public star parties. But even finding Jupiter in good binoculars will show you its four attendant moons, and Saturn will be a yellowy ellipse-shaped point of light.

Have fun

Madz

Thanks for the link Madz, thats a canny site and its in my favourites now.

[nature rambler]

Another suggestion is to get hold of a copy of Chris Marriott's SkyMap programme then you can spend rainy/cloudy nights familiarising yourself with what you can't see and also planning for a nights viewing when you can see

[falco]

Hi.

I've seen Saturn this month. Bought a new (cheap) Bresser Skylux and was blown away when I focussed on the planet. It was very exciting; I had never seen a planet so clearly. I could clearly see the rings and what I'm sure was it's largest Moon - Titan.

Regards...

[Madz]

Wow, great stuff falco. It's really breathtaking when you see Saturn for the first time from your own back garden. And yes that was Titan you saw next to it. I don't know what aperture your scope is, but have a look next time to see if you can make out the Cassini division - the gap within the rings. If you've got good seeing conditions you may be able to.

Madz