Transits of one of Saturn’s Moons or the Moon’s shadow across Saturn’s disk are very rare events. Due to the tilt of the ring plane, we are only able to observe these events once every 14-15 years, when the rings are “edge on” as seen from our location on Earth.
Right now, we are in the middle of a “ring plane crossing” and in 2009, there are 4 visible transits of Saturn’s largest Moon, Titan, across the face of the planet. The first one occurred on January 24th, and
I was fortunately able to capture 3 images to create an animation.
There are 3 more upcoming transits of Titan across the face of Saturn:
- February 9th: Approx 1am Sydney AEDST (February 8th 1400 UT)
- February 24th: Approx 11:15pm Sydney AEDST (February 24th 1215 UT)
- March 12th: Approx 10:15pm Sydney AEDST (March 12th 1115 UT)
Continue reading to find out more, where to find Saturn, and to see a simulation of where you will see the Titan and its shadow on the face of Saturn.
Upcoming Transits of Titan at Saturn - February and March 2009
I hope you get clear skies to observe (and photograph, if that’s your thing) these rare events! Please post your observing reports here and your images in the
Solar System section.