That before-and-after photo of Saturn taken six months apart through the same telescope just blew my mind

I set up my 8-inch Dobsonian in my backyard in Portland last summer and the rings were barely a sliver, but the shot I got last week with the tilt angle completely different showed the rings wide open and Saturn itself shifted in color from pale yellow to a deep gold, has anyone else noticed how fast the ring tilt changes across just one orbital season?

3 comments

3 Comments

clark.alex1mo ago

Yeah I noticed the same thing with my 8-inch Dob a couple years ago. I was tracking Saturn every few weeks during the summer and fall and the ring tilt changed way quicker than I expected. I swear it felt like every month or two the rings looked noticeably wider or narrower depending on the angle. The color shift you mentioned is real too - mine went from that pale washed-out yellow to a richer honey gold when the rings tilted open more. I think it's because we see more of the planet's darker cloud bands instead of just the bright ring reflection washing everything out. My best shot came on a clear night in November when Saturn was high overhead and the rings were nearly fully open, and the detail in the bands was insane compared to earlier in the year. Definitely worth sticking with the same scope across a few months just to catch that change.

jennifer2041mo ago

No way, every few weeks you could actually see the tilt changing? That's wild. I figured it shifted a lot slower than that.

drew551mo ago

Wish I could see anything but a blurry blob through my scope...