• Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
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    10 days 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
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    10 days 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
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      10 days 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
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    10 days 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
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      10 days 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
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        10 days 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
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          10 days 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
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            10 days 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
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              10 days 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
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    10 days ago

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

      • XeroxCool@lemmy.world
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        10 days 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
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    10 days ago

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