The ringed wonder: Saturn

[Cazzie]

I took this shot at Saturn's opposition in 2016 at the CHAOS (Chapel Hill Astronomy Observational Society) star party at Staunton River State park in Virginia. These are wonderful events and I urge all astronomy buffs to attend one. We had 166 scopes that night. I used a friend's 16-inch Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain on a track drive and hook up to his laptop for viewing. I used my Nikon D5500 with a 2-in adapter for his scope's eyepiece slot. I also used an adjustable 2X-4X Barlow extender. Manual focus was used and focusing done by software from the laptop. Folks, if I ever took a better shot of Saturn, I must have die for a bit and done some space travel.

Cazzie

[Josh Patterson]

It's amazing that the sun, which would look like a speck from Saturn's orbit, is still bright enough to illuminate Saturn like this! Not to mention Uranus and Neptune or Pluto (of which New Horizons sent us some awesome pictures). I'll never forget the first time I saw Saturn's rings with my own eyes through my Bushnell. (It's a totally different feeling than simply looking at a picture!) Someday I'll pony up for a nice reflector with a drive. Maybe a small one like this!

[Cazzie]

It's amazing that the sun, which would look like a speck from Saturn's orbit, is still bright enough to illuminate Saturn like this! Not to mention Uranus and Neptune or Pluto (of which New Horizons sent us some awesome pictures). I'll never forget the first time I saw Saturn's rings with my own eyes through my Bushnell. (It's a totally different feeling than simply looking at a picture!) Someday I'll pony up for a nice reflector with a drive. Maybe a small one like this!

That one will do. We have a guy who has one that size, only mono. The scope I shot the image above is very large, a 16" objective lens. It had a 2-inch viewing lens and I had to use a 2" to 1.25" adapter to use my camera and Barlow. If you every find a star party near you go. Contact a nearby Astronomy club. Usually all will hasve a night open to the public. Bring kids, it'll give them an entirely new perspective of our universe and God's wonder.

Cazzie