Contains:  Solar system body or event

Image of the day 06/23/2022

Saturn with the resplendent colours of its Southern Hemisphere, Niall MacNeill

Saturn with the resplendent colours of its Southern Hemisphere

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging

Image of the day 06/23/2022

Saturn with the resplendent colours of its Southern Hemisphere, Niall MacNeill

Saturn with the resplendent colours of its Southern Hemisphere

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging

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Description

The colours of the bands in the southern hemisphere are remarkable and beautiful in this south up view. I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing on the monitor. This planet never fails to please.

I had superb seeing for this captures of Saturn in RGB. This has resulted in a lot of detail being resolved in the planet's atmosphere. This was first light for the Siebert UV 1.5X Barlow and in combination the smaller pixels (2.4 microns) of the ASI 178MM camera has resulted in both an excellent image scale (0.07 "/pxl), but also much brighter captures.

There is a large storm cell in the NNTeZ on the p side of the Central Meridian, which can be seen in both the RGB and IR images. On its f side a series of small ovals can be observed.

This is the first image I have captured where there is clearly discernible activity in the southern hemisphere now that the ring tilt is allowing us to see that. On the northern side of what I think is the SSTeB, there is quite a dark feature on the f side of the Central Meridian nearer to the limb, again clearly discernible in RGB and IR. On the p side of this feature is a line of small ovals and festoons.

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Saturn with the resplendent colours of its Southern Hemisphere, Niall MacNeill