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Saturday, June 30, 2018
Saturn
Since the beginning of the year, I have praised the return to prime time of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. Last month I provided an observer guide to Jupiter. Bright Jupiter continues to be easily observable in July, beginning the month at about 35 degrees above the southern horizon. You will have a few more months to explore the stripes and striped areas of Jupiter, the Great Red Spot and the procession of its Galilean moons.
However, maybe everyone's favorite planet will soon steal the show from its neighbor. I am talking about Saturn and its exquisite ring system. When the rumor spreads that Saturn will be among the visual treats offered by telescopes at local observatories, one can expect long lines of astronomers eager to observe this beautiful planetary system. As astronomer Garrett P. Serviss wrote in his 1901 book Pleasures of the Telescope: "When Saturn is in sight, the owner of a telescope can become a recruiting officer for astronomy by simply inviting his friends to contemplate the wonderful planet. We come back again and again with an undeniable interest, and the beauty of the show corresponds to its singularity. "
Amateur astronomers and occasional astronomers who are lucky enough to own telescopes have been following Saturn for months, and they have been able to observe this magnificent ring world during the hours leading up to midnight. Was not hampered by the early closings of public night observation sessions held between the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
However, good things happen to On June 27, Saturn was in opposition (facing the Sun in the sky.) When the sun set that night, Saturn rose. The closest approach to Saturn from Earth for 2018 (841.140.152 miles.) Therefore, your exploration of Saturn can begin immediately and a telescope will reveal a slightly larger image of the planet than your private sleep associates. in the constell Sagittarius, just above the "teapot" asterism and nestled among the stars of the gauze (depending on the amount of light pollution from your place of observation) Milky Way. On July 1 at 10 pm, Saturn will be about 20 degrees above the southeast horizon and will be the brightest object in this region of the sky. It will be tempting to start observing Saturn as soon as you can locate it. However, you can wait an hour or two for Saturn to rise higher in the sky to minimize the effects of atmospheric turbulence on the details of the image.
Each night, Saturn will rise higher in the sky towards the west. On the 20th of the month, it will only be about 25 degrees above the south horizon at 23:00. This minimal degree of change in altitude is due to the fact that the ecliptic (trajectory of the Sun across our sky and thus the plane of the solar system) runs through a low arc across our summer night sky. . This scenario is also true for Jupiter and Mars this summer because the planets are also tracing the ecliptic. Much more beautiful views will be obtained from the latitudes further south.
The first time you observe Saturn through a telescope, its rings will take your breath away. They are really an impressive sight to behold. The rings are composed of dirty snowballs of irregular shape, ranging from grains of dust to the size of the pebbles. There are also "rocks" of several meters in diameter. They are all in orbit around Saturn along the equatorial plane of the planet. It is truly amazing that the rings of Saturn are even visible, given the great distance of the planet from the Earth and the fact that the main rings are only 32 feet thick, while the others Parts of the ring system can reach two-thirds of a mile thick.
In addition, the ring system is currently tilted 26 degrees to Earth, giving us a view of the north face of the plane of the ring. With rings so "wide open", this configuration allows to see many details. Look for gaps in the ring system. You should have no trouble seeing the separation between the primary "A" (external) and "B" (internal) rings, called the Cassini division. This difference is only 2,175 miles. In comparison, the width of the "A" ring is 9.321 miles and the "B" ring is about 16.032 miles in diameter. The rings of Saturn are slowly in orbit and end up all "raining" on its cloudy summits in 50 to 100 million years and ceasing to exist. Although Saturn is a gaseous giant a little smaller than Jupiter, it does not present the bands and prominent areas in its cloud tops as does its larger cousin. Few details can be seen on Saturn's disk. In fact, if it was not for Saturn's ring system, this planet would be a boring destination for most amateur and public astronomers.
Moreover, before and after the opposition, our angle of view changes, the attentive observer can look at the shadow of the rings on the tops of Saturn's clouds as well as the Saturn's shadow on his rings. In addition, with the rings so wide open, they are currently blocking our vision of the southern polar region of Saturn.
And finally, Saturn is accompanied by 62 confirmed moons. One can detect up to eight of its brightest moons in a dark moonless sky in ideal conditions to see with locally available telescopes and track their orbital motions around Saturn. In order of magnitude and brightness, they are Titan, Rhea, Iapetus, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus, Mimas and Hyperion
While a small two-inch telescope will reveal the beauty of Saturn, look for larger instruments available all over Rhode Island to explore this exquisite ring world in splendid detail. Seagrave Memorial Observatory in North Scituate is open every Saturday night clear to observe. Ladd Observatory in Providence must reopen Tuesday, July 10, and every Tuesday clear thereafter. The Margaret M. Jacoby Observatory of the CCRI Knight Campus in Warwick is open every Thursday night. Also, consider visiting the Frosty Drew Observatory in Charlestown every Friday night. Please visit the respective websites for more details. These observation sessions are free and open to the public
Join the volunteers of these facilities who share their love for the beauty of our solar system. The August column will prepare you for the next close encounter of Earth with Mars (about 35,800,000 miles) on July 31st. Mars will not be closer before September 11, 2035.
As always, keep your eyes in the sky.
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