[AZ-Observing] Saturn occultation

Greetings all;

Well, the Moon certainly passed in front of Saturn, just like Guide 7 said it 
would.  Using my 7 inch Maksutov at 225X I got a pretty steady view, even with 
a modest cloud deck over Phoenix, Arizona.  The clouds dimmed the Moon which 
allowed for convenient viewing and the seeing was mediocre but slow moving.

I watched for the disappearence of the satellite Titon about 5 minutes before 
the rings, so I knew exactly where the limb of the Moon was located.  Once 
Saturn's rings arrived at that place, they too started to disappear.  Over the 
next 72 seconds the dark limb of the Moon slowly but consistently drew a 
curtain in front of the beautiful rings and disk of the planet Saturn.  The 
edge of the Moon had a small change in elevation at the spot where Saturn was 
occulted and there was a definate shallow valley in dark cross section across 
the disk of Saturn.

All in all, a fascinating view;
Steve Coe

stevecoe@xxxxxxxxx
Author:  Deep Sky Observing--The Astronomical Tourist
Saguaro Astronomy Club web site:
www.saguaroastro.org


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