SKY & GALLERY

Observe them in the best detail you can and see if you can judge their relative ages of these three craters and give your reasons. We would like to hear from you.

Detail of mosaic by James Kelly. 16th December 2008. 20cm SCT (Celestron C8) with a DMK21AU04.AS mono camera.

These craters are well placed in early March and early April 2009.

During the final week of 2008 it was the best time to see Saturn's Rings at their narrowest. They closed to just an angle of -0.8°, the minus sign means the southern side is on view. In a very small telescope the rings may disappear completely, but in a larger telescope they should still be seen as a very narrow line on either side of the planet. It is also an excellent time to detect the fainter satellites as the glare from the rings is missing. Try imaging the planet or doing a scientific sketch carefully showing exactly what you see.

By early March 2009 the tilt of the rings increased to -2° and by early May 2009 they will be -4.1°. In the months thereafter the rings will then close once again. Their exact edge-on presentation, to the sun in August and to the earth in September 2009, but not be observable as Saturn will be too close the sun in the sky.

Saturn has now moved into the late evening sky, as it at opposition on 8th March 2009, so do have a look!.

The graphic shows Saturn at 23:00 UT on 5^th March 2009. South is up. From Guide8.

Gallery