Category: Saturn

Tilt of the Brim

Saturn

Saturn
Sketch and Details by Paul Abel

Hi there,

My name is Paul Abel and I’m a visual amateur astronomer here in Leicester UK. I produce all my observations by sketching and a recent Jupiter sketch of mine will be appearing in the Stargazerslounge.com calendar for 2009. I was wondering if you’d like some of my sketches for your website? It’s really good to see a website in astronomy devoted to sketching; we have plenty devoted to CCD!

I have enclosed a Saturn sketch as an example. Sadly, it is not one of my best, but it is the only one I can lay my hands on at the moment!!!

Regards,

-Paul.

Webmaster’s note: Thanks Paul, this sketch is lovely, and by all means, we would very much enjoy featuring your sketches!
-Rich Handy

The Beauty of Diminishing Rings

Saturn

Saturn
Sketch and Details by Eric Graff

Parks Astrolight EQ6 – 6″ f/6 Newtonian Reflector
7.5mm Parks Gold Series Plossl + 2x Barlow – 240x
12 April 2008 – 03:30 to 04:30 UT
Sketched from my backyard in San Diego, CA

Sketched with #2 pencil, blending stump, on 100# index card; processed with Microsoft Picture It! With special thanks to Sol Robbins for graciously sharing his excellent templates.

Planet Number Six

Saturn

Saturn
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

This was my first attempt at sketching the planet Saturn while using white Conte’ crayons on black paper. Over a period of 3 hours I made 4 drawings of Saturn. The first 3 made during the first two hours looked terrible but the third one, although rough and grainy looking, came out recognizable as a ringed planet. I have nothing but the highest respect for those sketchers that regularly and beautifully draw this planet.
I could clearly see the dark planet shadow on the A and B rings. I could not hold the C ring constantly visible and so I did not include it in the drawing. The Cassini division was clearly visible but not the Encke division. Contrast between the brighter equatorial zone and the southern equatorial belt above it were easily seen. Four of Saturn’s moons were easily seen when the high thin clouds moved on. Clockwise starting above the planet in the drawing is Titan (mag.8.8), then Tethys (mag.10.7), next Rhea (mag.10.2) and finally Dione (mag.10.8). Mimas and Enceladus were in the field of view but hidden by the planets glare.
Saturn and its moon make wonderful targets for a clear night at the eyepiece of a telescope. Sketching the view just simply adds to the enjoyment.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper, 8”x 11”, white and black Conte’pastel crayons, an eraser shield, and a blending stump. Brightness was slightly decreased (-5) and contrast increased (+3) after scanning using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Telescope: 10 inch f/5.7 Dobsonian and 6mm eyepiece 241x
Date: 5-5-2008 4:00 – 5:00 UT
Temperature: 13°C (56°F)
high clouds, calm
Seeing: Pickering 6.5

Ringed World With “Children” in Tow

Saturn

Saturn, March 3rd 2008
By Carlos E. Hernandez 

I made an observation of Saturn on March 3, 2008 (03:45 U.T.) using my 9-inch F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain (163x). I noted a good amount of detail over the globe and rings. Both the South Equatorial Belt (SEB) and North Equatorial Belt (NEB) were visible as brownish-reddish bands. The South Polar region (SPR) appeared brownish with a dark center. The North Polar Region (NPR) was also brownish. The inner portion of Ring B was dusky (4/10). Rhea (9.8m) and Dione (10.2m) were visible north and following the planet. Titan (8.4m) was visible preceding and south of the planet.

A digital rendering produced in Photoshop CS3.

Carlos

With family in tow

Saturn and moons 

Saturn & family

When I pointed my scope at Saturn at the evening of the first May 2007 I was kindly
surprised to see 5 of the Saturnian moons all on one side of the planet!
From left to right and with their magnitude: Titan(M8.4), Iapetus (M10.6), Rhea
(M9.8), Dione (M10.5) & Thetys (M10.3).

For sketches of planets I mostly use Orthoscopic’s, for this one I used the 4mm wich
gave me 250x power.

The sketch was done on standard A4 printerpaper with a template of Saturn printed on
it. I then scanned it and added a grey background and the 5 moons in Microsoft
Paint.

Sketched on the 1st May 2007 from my home in Bornem, Belgium. I used my 8” f/5 dob
at 250x through a 4mm University Optics Ortho eyepiece.

Kris Smet

Lady Luna meets the Lord of the Rings

Saturn and the Moon 

Saturn Occultation May 22nd 2007

I was not expecting to catch a glimpse of Saturn in a daylight sky, no way was I ready for that amazing vision. In my first look there was the white ringed planet right in front of me, in a blue blue sky heading into the invisible limb of the moon.

I just had to try to capture it, in some way, so I drew it quickly on black paper and then watched and waited until she began to vanish into nothing!!

I set up my easel and I began to sketch the moon through wispy cloud while I waited for Saturn to emerge from behind the lunar sphere. As she reappeared one hour or so later there was a wonderful change in her color against the darker sky. She was so tangerine, she was so beautiful. Saturn and her invisible icy orbs appeared to be flying along as our moon moved and glided out of her majestic way.

Deirdre Kelleghan

Bray, Co Wicklow Ireland

200mm Reflector/10mm eyepiece – 120X 19:01UT

200mm Reflector/ Binoviewer 20mm eyepieces/2X Barlow – 120X 20:09 UT

300gm paper/Soft Pastels/Quiling Needle

Saturn in the Late 19th Century

Saturn1 

These two sketches of Saturn appear in David P. Todd’s, A New Astronomy © 1897,
American Book Company. The first is drawn by British astronomer Henry Pratt made
on the evening of February 11, 1884 using an 8.15 inch clock driven Newtonian
telescope working at 450 power. It shows the rings of Saturn tilted most favorably
toward the earth. It appears on page 366 of Todd’s book. A brief article written
by Henry Pratt can be found in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society, Volume 44, June 1884, p. 407 the article is titled: The Physical Features
of Saturn, 1884.                                                                 

Saturn2 

The second Saturn sketch in David P. Todd’s, A New Astronomy © 1897,
American Book Company which appears on page 18 was made by the well
known American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard at Lick Observatory
in 1894 (10 years after Pratt’s sketch). E.E. Barnard just 3 years before 
rendering  this sketch, had discovered Jupiter’s 5th moon Amalthea only
11 days after he was given permission to use the Alvan Clark 36 inch
Refractor telescope on Mount Hamilton. Note the change in appearance
of Saturn’s rings in the 10 years between sketches.

The full-length biography E. E. Barnard by William Sheehan, published in 1995, is
a truly remarkable story of triumph in the face adversity. The book is titled: The
Immortal Fire Within – The Life and Work of Edward Emerson Barnard.
  
Submitted by
Frank McCabe