[AZ-Observing] Saturn Occultation
- From: "Frank Kraljic" <fjkraljic@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "AZ Observing" <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 07:14:21 -0700
Like Brett Watson, I also set up my 10" Dobsonian early that night to
observe this morning. At 225x, seeing was noticeably soft. Although
Cassini's Division was plainly visible, I found focusing difficult to attain
a sharp edge.
Dropping the magnification to 70x prior to first contact allowed both
the
moon and Saturn to rest in the same field of view. Even though the third
quarter moon--a favorite phase--was blinding through ten inches of aperture,
I gauged a unique perspective with an object ~250,000 miles away, to a
planet over two billion miles distant. Absolutely impressive the sheer
imaginable size of Saturn, no matter how small it appeared in the field.
Honestly, I felt the disappearance was rather anti-climatic.
Experiencing
a few other occultations in the past, I personally prefer to watch a planet
slip behind an invisible darkness than behind a bright limb. With that in
mind, I returned observing just minutes before reappearance.
The moon, more appeasing in brightness, but shallow in contrast, lay
stationary in a blue-gray wash. Starting at 81x, and the moon full field, I
waited until a pale orange-yellow arc appeared out of nowhere. I quickly
jumped to 225x, and watch the remainder of Saturn emerge from nothingness,
as if the spectacle were a magic trick of sort. Definitely well worth the
time and effort, even with the sun shinning well above the horizon.
-FRANK
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