Beginner Astronomy – Part XI – Observing Saturn Saturn’s rings are near their highest angle right now, as seen from our lonely rock. Wait… you didn’t know that Saturn’s rings have phases? At first it seems ludicrous to think that any of the outer planets would have phases. They’re so far out that, for all intents and purposes, the side that faces us is always lit, but Saturn’s a bit different. Although all the gas giants have a ring system, Saturn’s is the only one visible from Earth, due to its immense surface area. But Saturn, like Earth, rotates on a tilted axis. Here on Earth, that axial tilt gives us our seasons, and I’m sure that Saturn has its equivalent of seaons as well, but nothing that we can see from here. Instead, we see the shape of the rings change, swinging between a thin line across the planet, to an ellipse that is broader than the planet in both axes, and back to a thin line. If you’re lucky, you may even make out the shadow of the planet against the rings, as they swing from north to south, and back again, over its 29 ½ year orbit. So what’s the best way to observe Saturn? Although Saturn can be seen through a 3 or 4 inch schope, its small angular size requires a good deal of magnification, for which an 8 inch or larger objective lens will help. Furthermore, due to the primarily yellow colour of the planet, a yellow filter will help bring out contrast and clean up your view, but for detail on the rings, a violet filter may help a lot. Good seeing conditions are, of course, a must, although you can see Saturn from inside the city. Try experimenting with different filters and let us know your results! Phases of Saturn’s Rings bit.ly/1vNh1xe Saturn as seen from North Vancouver, 117mm refractor bit.ly/RXJq3H As seen from ~310 miles altitude, 4,267 mm reflector (Hubble) bit.ly/1lGEaJv
Posted on: Fri, 23 May 2014 13:00:01 +0000
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