Contains:  Solar system body or event
Saturn Returns to the Night Sky!, Ethan Chappel

Saturn Returns to the Night Sky!

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging
Saturn Returns to the Night Sky!, Ethan Chappel

Saturn Returns to the Night Sky!

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

We are seeing Saturn's rings edge-on for the first time in 15 years, giving us a nearly unobstructed view of both hemispheres of the ringed planet. This also brings opportunities to watch Titan and other moons transit over Saturn and cast shadows since they orbit in the same plane as the rings. We are used to seeing these events with Jupiter's moons since they always orbit nearly edge-on, but the larger tilt of Saturn makes these events rare.

However, the change of seasons means we are losing sight of a unique feature of Saturn. The famous north polar hexagon appears, at best, as a barely perceptible smudge on top of Saturn. After this year, we will not be able to see it at all until around 2040 when it emerges from a long winter, and it will take a couple more years after that to get a good view of it again.

Comments