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[Centaur]

Saturn is now visible in the southeastern sky for much of the evening as it approaches opposition from the Sun. The ringed planet’s oppositions are slowly moving into a warmer time of the year for observers north of the tropics. However, that also means its declination has begun dipping into the southern celestial hemisphere where it will remain until 2026.

Saturn is expected to achieve its greatest brilliance for this apparition around 2011 MAR 24 at magnitude +0.3. This year it will reach opposition from the Sun in ecliptical longitude on APR 03, along with its closest approach to Earth of this apparition at 8.6139 AU. On that date the tilt of its ring plane will be 8.7°, and its equatorial angular diameter will be 19.2 arcseconds. It will then be rising around sunset, transiting near local midnight, and setting as the Sun rises.

Apparent direct motion will resume on JUN 12, and eastern quadrature (90° from Sun) will be reached on JUL 02 Eventually Saturn will move to conjunction behind the Sun on OCT 13.

The only close conjunctions between Saturn and other planets during this apparition will occur in the glare of the Sun shortly before Saturn conjuncts with the Sun. On SEP 29 Venus will pass 1.3° south of Saturn, and on OCT 06 Mercury will pass 1.7° south of Saturn.

On JAN 24 Saturn approached to 8.2° from magnitude +1.0 Spica before retrograde motion pulled it back. Saturn will not come close to any other first magnitude stars during this apparition.

The Moon will pass about 7° or 8° south of Saturn on MAR 20, APR 16, MAY 14, JUN 10, JUL 07, AUG 04, AUG 31 & SEP 28.

I’ve created several graphics related to Saturn and the changes in the tilt of its rings. They can be seen by clicking: www.curtrenz.com/saturn

Photos and descriptions of Saturn and its rings would be welcome additions to this thread.

[-=CROMAN=-]

I set up my scope about 11:30 this evening and got a really good look at it. This was actually my first time seeing Saturn since I began and it was pretty exciting! Thanks for the great information

[Paulie pchris00]

I was going to try to document Saturn last night, but of course it was cloudy. For now, here is a video I created earlier this year, when Saturn was viewed only in the wee hours of the night.





When I get a chance to observe Saturn again, we can compare the images. (Side note, my 6" Dobsonian telescope was badly out of collimation when this video was taken. It is not quite perfect at the moment, but considerably better than in January).

[Paulie pchris00]

I had a chance to observe Saturn last night, and enough time to get a video while it is near opposition.






I know the quality of the video is bad, but it's the best I can do on my budget. The view at the eyepiece was so much better, maybe the best I've ever seen Saturn. I pushed the magnification to 300x, and in moments of good seeing, I had a hint of the Cassini Division, a nice view of the ring shadow across the equator, and banding in the northern (?) hemisphere (the same hemisphere that we are currently seeing the face of the rings). I looked for the storm that was discovered late last year, but saw no sign of it. I don't remember which hemisphere it was in, but I thought it was the southern, which means (if I'm correct about the axis tilt showing us the northern hemisphere of the rings) that it could be partially obstructed by the rings and their shadow. I'll have to find out if transit times are published, and as Joe suggested to me last night on Facebook, maybe try filtering to tease it out.

That is my week before opposition report.

[Paulie pchris00]

I just checked transit times for the "Honkin' Big Storm Visible on Saturn", and it was transiting at the time I was observing, 9:24 PM CDST. I missed it.

lackawannaastronomicalsociety.org/?p=873

astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Saturn&action=display&thread=2991&page=1

[Centaur]

Thanks for sharing your Saturn video, Paulie. Keep it up and someday you’ll discover a new feature on Saturn that will make your rich and famous. Then no more worry about budgets.

[Paulie pchris00]

I'm not worried about fortune and fame, but I would like to contribute to real science sometime. A guy I talk to in California is learning to measure binary stars, and along with local college students will eventually be submitting their work to a database. My best chance to contribute to science at present moment are lunar occultation timings, although as you have pointed out, we don't have many opportunities this year. I admire those who work behind the scenes on tedious projects, especially amateurs.

[Centaur]

Opposition arrives tomorrow! Magnificent Saturn with its glorious rings is the only significant planetary show right now with the others appearing rather close to the Sun. Here are my calculated times for the various events related to Saturn’s opposition.

2011 APR 03 at 22:49 UT – Closest Approach to Earth
2011 APR 03 at 23:55 UT – Greatest Elongation from Sun
2011 APR 03 at 23:56 UT – Opposition in Celestial Longitude
2011 APR 05 at 01:48 UT – Opposition in Right Ascension

Saturn’s greatest brilliance for this apparition came on 2011 MAR 24 due to the decreasing tilt of its ring plane while the planet appears in retrograde motion. Enjoy the show! www.curtrenz.com/saturn

[Paulie pchris00]

Curt, NASA stole your graphics again.

www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1986880274509

[Centaur]

Thanks, Paulie. Indeed, Jane Houston Jones of the NASA/JPL Cassini Mission has used my Saturn graphics in her videos before. She tells me that she has my creations posted on her office wall in Pasadena. I asked if I would get a tax refund, and she responded that that is not her department. At least she includes my name in the credits. Perhaps NASA really is in a budget crunch, if they cannot afford their own graphics artists.

[Paulie pchris00]

The serpent storm is transiting at 7:18 tonight, right about sunset. Tonight's forecast is not looking good, but it's kinda/sorta clear right now. If it stays that way, I'm going to have a look for it.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I might do some garage Saturn observation if it's clear....with the 90mm perhaps.

[Paulie pchris00]

The storm was transiting this morning at 12:34 AM CDST, and I was out looking for it, but it was too windy. The turbulence made the seeing very poor. If I push my Dob the the limit, I think I can observe the storm, but I'm going to need almost perfect conditions for it.