[AZ-Observing] Saturn, it has rings ya'know
- From: "Steve Coe" <stevecoe@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 22:10:29 -0700
Mar 23 2006
Nexstar 8
Moon Valley Observatory
9:20 PM MST
Excellent seeing (8) for 15 entire minutes. It is an evening with some high
clouds, but it looks steady, so I open the roof and let the scope cool for
30 minutes. As soon as I put the 10mm Lanthanum eyepiece in (200X) I know
that it has been worth my time. The view of Saturn is sharp and shows
excellent contrast. I immediately put in the 7.5mm Lanthanum and it
provides the best view at 267X.
Saturn is really showing off at its best. There is detail on the ball of
the planet--one wide yellowish band, another that is more ivory in color and
the polar cap is dark and unmistakable. The rings are terrific, the inner
Crepe ring is quite easy and
Cassini's division is black and sharply defined.
Titan is the easy satellite on the east side of the planet, Dione and Rhea
are off to the west. Tethys is near the disk of Saturn on the SE side.
A great view of an old favorite. After all these years it is still a
fascinating planet. And then, the good seeing went away as the breeze
picked up and I did some wide double stars for a while.
Just a warm up for the marathon;
Steve Coe
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