• Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    1 month ago

    Nobody warned me that 2018 was the best time to see Saturn!

    6 years before the rings are aligned at a good angle to earth again?

  • Illecors@lemmy.cafe
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    1 month ago

    Maybe a silly question, but are the rings locked to Saturn’s rotation axis? I.e. is it the rings that tilted or both rings and planet?

    • riodoro1@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      1 month ago

      From the planet itself they would appear stationary, yes. From basically any other solar system body they change because basically everything orbits at wonky angles.

  • ch00f@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    1 month ago

    I love showing people Saturn. Clearly visible even with city light pollution, and rings can be resolved even with cheap hardware.

    Kind of nuts how long people can live without ever seeing the rings for themselves.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 month ago

      I saw Saturn at an observatory long before I had my own telescope, but that heart-skip-a-beat moment the first time you see Saturn with your own telescope is like nothing else.

      • ch00f@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 month ago

        I remembering bringing my 5" dobson to a work retreat camping trip. Everyone was pretty boozed up to the point where they were struggling to keep their eyes steady in the eyepiece.

        When one of my coworkers finally got everything lined up he just blurted out “HOLY FUCKING SHIT THAT’S SATURN!”

        It was great.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 month ago

          Oh man, I always wanted a dobs. They were significantly more expensive than Newtonians when I was shopping around (not sure if that’s still true, this was the 90s), so I ended up with a Newtonian.

          • ch00f@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            1 month ago

            I think you’re mixing up names. Dobson is the name of the mount, and since they’re most commonly used on Newtonians, it’s kind of become shorthand. My 5" and 12" are both Newtonian reflectors on Dobson mounts.

            Maybe you’re thinking of a Schmidt Cassegrain?

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              1 month ago

              I honestly don’t remember, it’s been so long since I’ve been into telescopes. But you obviously know your stuff, so you’re right.

  • Destide@feddit.uk
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    1 month ago

    It’s close to the moon atm if you have a decent pair of binoculars or a telescope

      • XeroxCool@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 month ago

        Location on Earth will change timing for really precise events like occultations. Location on Earth will not affect any DSO’s visual “closeness” to the moon, especially not at the low zoom scale of binoculars. Hemisphere will only change which is on top. At 1/40th the distance to the moon, moving from pole to pole only changes the view the amount standing 1 foot to the left changes the view of an object 40ft away

  • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 month ago

    When Oryx activated his super weapon, he inadvertently affected Saturn’s axis…