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Saturn Approaching Opposition

Discussion in 'Astrophotography and Imaging' started by Orion25, Jul 26, 2022.

Saturn Approaching Opposition

Started by Orion25 on Jul 26, 2022 at 5:59 PM

17 Replies 1881 Views 4 Likes

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  1. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    Saturn is emerging above the horizon around midnight and will reach opposition (position opposite the sun) on August 14 when it will be closest and brightest. I imaged this shot with my ZWO ASI-224MC space camera and 180mm Mak-Cass telescope, one of my best, me thinks, lol!

    ASTRONOMY - SATURN 7-24-22.jpg

    Clear skies!
    Reggie :cool:
     
  2. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    Great shot yeah you have many visible features in it a lot of cloud details.

    Very cool! we never get tired of this.
     
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  3. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Jeez those space cameras are good! That's great Reggie. You must have actually been in space. Was re-entry difficult? ROTFL!

    Seriously though, I'm impressed. Superb detail. I had a good session on Saturn with my 80 ED DS Pro on Tuesday. I observed Saturn until after transit.

    Cloudy and damp here at the moment, typical English weather. Wednesday's looking promising. I want to get my 127mm Mak' out for Saturn, Jupiter and Mars.

    Back to Zeta Reticuli then ...
     
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  4. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    Thanks @Nebula and @Mak the Night. That little ZWO ASI-224MC really does the trick and the 180mm Mak is no slouch either. Saturn is really looking great and I can tell the reduced incline of the rings (I read that they are becoming more edge-on to our line of sight).
     
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  5. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    In a couple of years they'll look like this:

    sat.jpg
     
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  6. stepping beyond

    stepping beyond Well-Known Member

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    Awesome Reggie . Bless me with some of those clear skies.
     
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2022
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  7. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    I had my first observation of Saturn tonight, there was a 10 minutes opening of very good atmospheric condition, I had a good fortune using 250x of power during that time and enjoyed the views very much.

    Still can believe it after a modest 6 years of experience.

    Jupiter was low but interesting also there was a shadow transit happening at the time of the observation, I don't know which moon the shadow belongs to.
     
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  8. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Saturn was bright this morning. I could see Titan and Rhea.

    sat1.jpg

    I reckon the shadow transit was Europa. I could see it with my 80ED Evostar at about 04:30 British Summer Time this morning.

    eur0.jpg

    I got a sharp 160x as Jupiter was near transit.

    eur1.jpg

    I'm pretty sure I could see Syrtis Major and the polar cap on Mars.

    mars.jpg

    I could see it with my 127mm Mak last night as well.
     
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  9. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    it was a nice transit :) great views it's always fun to see that. At some point I saw 5 or 6 moons total for saturn!

    You got up early to see Mars @Mak the Night that's cool, what kind of power did you use for Mars?
     
  10. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    I saw Mars, Jupiter and Saturn again this morning with my 127mm Mak. I got 257x on Mars (6mm Tak' ortho'). I could see Syrtis Major. Jupiter was very clear at 171x and I could see the GRS.
     
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  11. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    @Mak the Night cool your motivation is enviable. 257x on Mars! wow That's very good, it must show quite a bit if the views are sharp enough.

    I tried 250x on Saturn with my 12" it was cleaner and sharper then my usual 167x with the 8" which it my sweet spot most of the time with that telescope. I could not believe the views at 250x, although I had similar good views with the 8" using an orthoscopic and my 2x Xcel LX barlow, 286x, some time ago.

    Mars must be incredible and interesting at 257x, I never had good result on it at 285x. But I think it took 212x a couple of time which is far from bad.

    :)

    ***

    Mak do you know of a specific surface atlas for Mars that is not digital on a tablet or a computer? I am searching for perhaps a plastic sheet with maybe 4 faces of the planet with many albedo identification.. You know something simple like the Sky and Telescope moon sheet.. it has only 1 picture of the moon with +- 260 craters, it's easy to use, it's small and precise enough for the field..

    Searching for the perfect map.

    Ah this little one will be useful soon also!
    [​IMG]
     
  12. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Mars is only about 8 arc seconds in diameter so not really big enough for any real definition. But I could make out the dark triangle of Syrtis Major. Orion used to have a Mars map. I have a copy. Yellow filters are good for Mars.

    https://gistgear.com/product/B00NBBCV3E

    Not sure if they're still available though. They seem to have closed down a lot of their European distribution centres. There's also a National Geographic Mars laminate.
     
  13. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    I really like the image detail and colors. Well done.

    Ed
     
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  14. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    Thanks, Ed. Waiting on opposition!
     
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  15. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    Reggie, I'm still waiting for a clear enough night to image anything.

    Ed
     
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  16. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    I was lucky, my 2 last observations of Saturn, the views were extremely sharp. Now it's back to waiting for another clear night for me too.
     
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  17. Orion25

    Orion25 Well-Known Member

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    Good going, Neb! The planets are looking great right now. Jupiter and Mars oppositions are right around the corner ;)
     
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  18. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    Yeah I am very enthusiastic about this. yesterday I must have spent 4 hours studying the various features of Saturn, Jupiter (with their moons) along with the various features of mars. (Behind the computer)

    I created my own illustrated maps to help me identify the features of these planets later, to be better prepared during the observation.

    It promises to be an experience (it has already started )

    ;)
     
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