Saturn

Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and is the second largest.  Galileo observed the planet and noted it's odd features but was not able to describe it's rings.  It was not until 1659 when Christiaan Huygens correctly inferred  the geometry of it's rings.  Until 1977, Saturn was the only planet in our solar system that contained a set of rings.  Saturn was first visited by Pioneer 1 and then later by Voyger 1 and Voyger 2.  Saturn is the least dense of all the planets and is less dense than water.  Saturns rings are extraordinarily thin.  A diameter of 250,000 km but less than 1 km thick. The ring particles seem to be composed primarily of water ice, but they may also include rocky particles with icy coatings.

Date:  01-08-05

Telescope: RC14.5 with 4x Powermate Barlow       

Camera: Meade Webcam                

Processing: Used AutoStar for capture and Registax for processing. Captured about 300 frames and sorted by quality.