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Old 13-02-2014, 01:23 PM
JJDOBBER79 (Jas)
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occultation

Hi all,
Apparently a lunar occultation of saturn is going to take place at 9am on Saturday the 22nd of feb. How much of this will be visible? Would be a great sight if it is doable. I guess the objects themselves will be ok, I have no trouble seeing the moon or saturn. Its the 9am part that worries me.
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Old 13-02-2014, 03:23 PM
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Originally Posted by JJDOBBER79 View Post
Hi all,
Apparently a lunar occultation of saturn is going to take place at 9am on Saturday the 22nd of feb. How much of this will be visible? Would be a great sight if it is doable. I guess the objects themselves will be ok, I have no trouble seeing the moon or saturn. Its the 9am part that worries me.
There are a couple of threads on this. See http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s....php?p=1051847 and http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s....php?p=1055206

For Lismore it starts at 09:49 with Saturn a bit north of west at altitude ~44 degrees and finishes at 11:00 with Saturn at ~30 degrees.

Any of the planetarium programs will visualise it for you.
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Old 13-02-2014, 07:38 PM
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With the Moon as a reference point you will be surprised how easy it will be see Saturn, especially in the telescope.

I remember well a daytime occultation of Jupiter about 10 years ago, around 11am in the morning. Because of the Moon, it was easy to see Jupiter naked eye! But with Saturn being a bit fainter it might be more of a challenge.
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Old 16-02-2014, 12:30 PM
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Originally Posted by JJDOBBER79 View Post
How much of this will be visible?
Good question. I'll tell you Saturday afternoon!

Just be careful of the start time. It all depends on your location.

For me in The Blue Mountains:
D = 2014/02/21 23:01:58 UT (= 22nd Feb @ 10:01:58 am)
R = 2014/02/22 00:09:47 UT (= 22nd Feb @ 11:09:47 am)

I've not observed a planetary lunar occultation, but it shouldn't be too hard. The Moon and Saturn will be in the west and the sun of course will be in the north east. So best if you setup on the west side of a building (with a view to the west) and keep the scope in the shade.

The disappearance will be at the sunlit limb, and the reappearance will at the unlit limb, which of course will be invisible, so Saturn will reappear in "fresh air" so to speak.

For video observers, a deep red (Wratten 25) or an IR-pass filter should darken the blue sky nicely.

Here is a movie of a similar event...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA_cyrjiRs8
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Old 17-02-2014, 03:58 PM
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I assume it will be difficult to watch the occultation with a small telescope? I can see Saturn quite well in the darkness, but it is small and I am afraid I won't see much during the day...
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Old 17-02-2014, 05:55 PM
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Thanks for the info. And thanks for the exact time Andrew. Hey oz, the abc science guy reckons it should be easily visible with binos or a small scope.
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Old 17-02-2014, 07:36 PM
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I'm at-
Latitude36° 39' 18" S
Longitude142° 51' 54" EWill it even be visible & if so what time should I try?
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Old 17-02-2014, 09:26 PM
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Doug, for you it's starting at about 09:48 AEDT and ending at about 11:01.
At start the moon will be about 15 degrees north of west (Az: 283deg) and about half way to the zenith (Alt: 45deg) with Saturn at about the 1 o'clock position with regard to the Moon.

Sydney's weather isn't promising, and I've got a lovely new ASI120MM and Atik EFW2 filter wheel I want to test out on the occultation.
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Old 18-02-2014, 02:06 AM
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Originally Posted by JJDOBBER79 View Post
Hey oz, the abc science guy reckons it should be easily visible with binos or a small scope.
Thanks! Thinking about it, I am a bit worried because I have a collapsible dob. The event will be in the West, the sun in the East, and my secondary mirror will point at the sun (maybe, I am not sure, but it will point East). I am not sure if it can be dangerous?
Otherwise I could just try with my camera and use the scope in May.
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Old 18-02-2014, 06:49 AM
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Originally Posted by mithrandir View Post
Doug, for you it's starting at about 09:48 AEDT and ending at about 11:01.
At start the moon will be about 15 degrees north of west (Az: 283deg) and about half way to the zenith (Alt: 45deg) with Saturn at about the 1 o'clock position with regard to the Moon. Sydney's weather isn't promising, and I've got a lovely new ASI120MM and Atik EFW2 filter wheel I want to test out on the occultation.
Thanks for the data I'll give it a go. My new 12" is due today so it should be set up in time.

Cheers
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Old 22-02-2014, 06:14 AM
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VERY thick clouds here....
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Old 22-02-2014, 06:51 AM
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Same here in Melbourne.
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Old 22-02-2014, 07:06 AM
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Worst clouds in a month here. Maybe next time
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Old 22-02-2014, 07:40 AM
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In the last hour it has cleared here. Can't see Saturn in my 11x70s. There might be time to set up the scope before it starts.
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Old 22-02-2014, 07:40 AM
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Clear sky in Mackay at 6.00am but sea cloud rolling in now... it will probably clear after the occultation is over. I did catch a look with 60 x 12 binoculars in the same FOV as the moon but that was just before sunrise.


Update, It is visible in my 102mm f7 refractor....just not easy to find but should get easier when it is closer to the moon.


Rick

Last edited by doppler; 22-02-2014 at 07:48 AM. Reason: Update
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Old 22-02-2014, 08:11 AM
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Full cloud cover here in the Wimmera no holes in the cloud. It's 9.10 am and not looking good. It's due to start here at 9.48 am.
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Old 22-02-2014, 08:19 AM
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kids cricket had a cancelation so home for this and hell the clouds are thick..praying for a sucker hole in around 30 mins will be nice
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Old 22-02-2014, 08:27 AM
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Clouds are cleared around the moon here in Melbourne, but I can't see Saturn yet. Checked with 8x42 binocs and my 8" dob, moon is in clear view and Saturn supposed to be very close.
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Old 22-02-2014, 08:29 AM
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Near as damn it complete cloud cover here on the Sunshine Coast. Boo!
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Old 22-02-2014, 08:36 AM
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well I managed to find the moon get focused and now clouded.

edit here is the focus shot complete with moate at 9:05am
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Last edited by h0ughy; 22-02-2014 at 01:08 PM.
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