Friday, January 23, 2009

Saturn's Disappearing Rings

-Scope: Edu-Sci 50mm refractor
-Condition : Partly cloudy
-Location : East Coast Park


Tracking Saturn with my 50mm refractor (above)

Decided to head down to east coast park (ECP) for a
glimpse of Saturn's thinning rings. I'm still able to see the rings with 
my 50mm scope at 90x with a 4mm eyepiece. Saturn will retrograde
from Dec 2008 through May 2009, during this period, the rings
will open up slightly before reaching the thinnest again in Sep 4 2009.

Known as ring plane crossing, it occurs periodically when
the tilt and position of Saturn's orbit allows a view as
if the rings are disappearing. You have to view this
occurrence as it happens only once in 14 to 15 years, don't miss it!


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