Saturn's Splendor
February 2005 :
Note: This article may contain outdated information
This article was published in the February 2005 issue of The Skyscraper and likely contains some information that was pertinent only for that month. It is being provided here for historical reference only.
Saturn has been in the news lately because of the Cassini spacecraft's arrival back in July '04. We've seen breathtaking images of this ringed planet and many of its moons that put the old Voyager images to shame. If you are unfamiliar with the Cassini mission, visit the mission home page. Not only does it include a wealth of information about the spacecraft and all its instrumentation, but also it houses an archive of all the images taken to date. They will knock your socks off!
And back on January 14, a small 705 pound probe named Huygens descended through Titan's atmosphere and landed on the surface of Saturn's largest moon. Some of the first views show a landscape possibly "carved" by liquid methane (and you thought New England was cold!!).
But you know, despite the wonderful high resolution images of Saturn provided by Cassini, nothing compares to using your own telescope or those at Seagrave Observatory to examine the Saturnian system for yourself. If you've never seen Saturn through a telescope, you are missing a view you won't soon forget.
"Many telescopic views in the heavens disappoint the beginner, but that of Saturn does not. Even though the planet may not look as large as he expects to see it from what he has been told of the magnifying power employed, the untrained observer is sure to be greatly impressed by the wonderful rings, suspended around it ... No previous inspection of pictures of these rings can rob them of their effect upon the eye and the mind. They are overwhelming in their inimitable singularity, and leave every spectator truly amazed."
So wrote Garrett P. Serviss in his 1901 book, Other Worlds. I often quote from his body of astronomical works because the author makes such succinct observations that, written more than 100 years ago, still ring true today. Let the word spread during a star party that Saturn is in view through a specific telescope and watch the line form. Saturn and his rings can still draw a crowd to the telescope.
At the beginning of February, Saturn can be found about halfway up the eastern sky about 7:00 pm in the constellation Gemini.
If you can locate the giant constellation Orion, look up and to the left (north) of this mighty star pattern for Gemini. The twins are represented by the bright stars Castor and Pollux, both of which have a string of stars that form the "stick" bodies. This string of stars points towards Orion.
Even under low magnification, your first glimpse will clearly reveal Saturn's magnificent ring system. The southern face of the rings remain tilted to our line of sight almost to its maximum angle through March. After that the angle will slowly decrease until the rings are seen "edge-on" in 2009. Because the rings continue to remain wide open, this configuration allows us to observe detail in their structure.
It's amazing they are visible at all, considering Saturn's distance from the Earth, and the fact that the ring plane is only about 328 feet thick (just larger than the length of a football field). Although there are hundreds of ringlets, you shouldn't have any difficulty seeing the separation between the primary A (outer) and B (inner) rings, called the Cassini Division. This gap is only 2,175 miles wide. In comparison, the width of the A ring is 9,321 miles and the B ring is around 16,032 miles across.
The rings are comprised of irregularly shaped dirty snowballs, ranging in size from grains of dust to many particles the size of pebbles. There are also some "boulders" as large as a few hundred feet and some small mountain sized bodies. They all orbit Saturn along the planet's equatorial plane.
Though the rings are the main attraction, you can also view the planet's salmon-colored cloud tops. The bands in its upper atmosphere are much less prominent than those of Jupiter. Very little cloud detail can be seen in small telescopes. Saturn would look very boring through a telescope without its ring system. One thing you can look for is the shadow of the planet projected onto its rings.
Saturn also has satellites you can observe. Its four brightest are Titan, Rhea, Dione and Tethys, and you can watch these moons orbit Saturn like a solar system in miniature. Titan, which orbits Saturn in 16 days, will be the brightest and, during its greatest elongations east or west of Saturn, can be easily spotted.
Enjoy the beauty of this magnificently ringed world almost one billion miles from our home planet.
If you'd like to explore the universe with larger instruments, then by all means visit Seagrave Memorial Observatory on Peeptoad Road in North Scituate on any clear Saturday night once the parking lot is snow free. Our members will be happy to share their love of the sky with you. More information, including directions, membership, and snow closures, can be found at our website: www.theskyscrapers.org
As always, keep your eyes to the skies.
