Quote:
Originally Posted by ngcles
Hi Clarry,
Congrats and well done mate. Yep I remember my first time very well -- it was in January of 1974 (all but 35 years ago -- I was 12yo) and it was in the backyard where I grew up in Oyster Bay (only a stone's-throw from Bonnet Bay).
Saturn was in Gemini and I was observing with my trusty 60mm Tasco 9TE refractor at x56 with a 12.5mm Huygens ep, just popping from bright star to bright star investigating this and that when I put this bright star in the FOV I nearly fell off the kitchen chair I was sitting on. It was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen.
Even after all these years, I still can't help but be wowed by Saturn on a good night. I had a couple of very memorable views the night before and the night after the last ring-plane passage with the 10" (or was it the 12"??). I could see the rings as a dusky line either side of the bright planet just on 40hrs after the passage. The seeing those two nights was some of the best I've encountered in suburban Sydney which generally has poor to mediocre seeing. It was pretty steady at x350, but I felt the best view was x297 when it was like a Voyager picture.
I've been lucky enough over the years to give 1000s of people their first look at Saturn. It is more likely than any other object in the sky to produce a "wow".
Are you a member at Sutherland Astronomical Society, Oyster Bay Clarry?
Best,
Les D
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Yep, your description of your first view of Saturn matches my impressions exactly.
No I'm not a member of the society, mainly cause I'm a chef & work every Thursday night, so that rules out attending the meetings. I have been invited out to your Waterfall field a couple of times by "madwayne" (a member here & of your society) but unfortunately it's been cloudy both times.