Iapetus transit of Saturn - April 30

[Tulloch]

For the first time in 15 years, Iapetus will transit Saturn. To the best of my knowledge, this has never been imaged from Earth before, there were some sketches made of the previous event in 2007.
https://britastro.org/section_information_/saturn-uranus-and-neptune-section-overview/apparition-galleries/saturn-apparition-observations/2006-2007-saturn-apparition-observations/2006-2007-observations-of-the-transit-of-iapetus-on-january-6-7

The event will start at around 4am (EST) on April 30 and continue until dawn, attached is a WinJupos simulation at around 6:30am. We will only get one chance at this, there might be another opportunity on July 18 to see it cross the rings, but that's it until 2037!
https://twitter.com/tw__astro/status/1494451533248962560

Get your planetary imaging rig ready and start praying for clear skies!

Andrew

[Dave882]

Thanks for the heads-up!

[Saturnine]

Thanks for the info Andrew, will make an interesting catch.

One would expect that over the next few years as the orbital plane of the satellites ( and rings ) gets more edge on, that there will be more transits to look forward to.

[multiweb]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll be in Mudgee so time to dust the cobwebs off the G11 and the TAK. :lol:

[Dennis]

Thanks Andrew, I just fired up SkyTool 4 for my location in Brisbane and this event appears to start just before noon on the 30th April, so it looks like a N Hemisphere event?:shrug:

Cheers

Dennis

[Saturnine]

Just checked on Stellarium and it shows Iapetus on Saturns disc from about 4:15am EST until dawn on that date, as Andrew said .

[Dennis]

Thanks for that, :) I just looked at Sky Safari Pro (IOS) and Starry Night Pro 8 and they show the event as described by Andrew, :thumbsup: whereas The Sky X Pro does not show it at all and Sky Tools appears to have the incorrect time…:shrug:

Cheers

Dennis

[multiweb]

I got it around 44 degrees up east around Sydney latitude as well same time. Don't want to be a party pooper but conditions are not looking the best around that time although it is still way too far ahead to get an accurate prediction.

[Tulloch]

Glad you got it sorted out. Down here in Melbourne the forecast is not looking promising either, but we might get an hour or two of clear skies ... :prey:

[multiweb]

Quick question. Will there be a shadow cast on Saturn? In Stellarium it just shows the moon crossing the planet disc. I don't even know what the difference is in luminosity between the two so it is expected to be visible against the planet's bands?

[EpickCrom]

Thanks for the heads up Andrew!

[Tulloch]

I don't think so - I think the distance between the moon and the planet is too great. Interestingly, WinJupos predicts that the July 18 transit will show the moon's shadow, details here...
https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/820607-simple-2-frame-animation-comp-mars-53-55/?p=11849060



Andrew

[multiweb]

Cool - thanks for the link and info. I'm struggling to find a spot that would be cloud free on the east coast. Even as far west as Coonabarabran shows overcast :(

[Tulloch]

Yup - not looking good ...

[rustigsmed]

Did anyone manage to image this?

[multiweb]

Yeah in my dreams... :windy:

[Dave882]

I had a go with the c14. Seeing was awful and didn’t get round to capturing it till 630 am with the sun well and truely up… here’s the result (not pretty sorry) and even using all my imagination im struggling to see a spot on the surface…

[Saturnine]

Hi All

Cristopher Go from the Phillipines and a few others managed to image the transit, using C14s' or similar aperture scopes.
https://alpo-j.sakura.ne.jp/indexE.htm
So it was possible to image the transit with favourable conditions. Check the images in the Saturn section for the 29th.