Uranus and satellites; Titania, Oberon, Umbriel & Ariel

[Dennis]

Hello,

Here is my annual effort at imaging Uranus and his 4 brighter satellites.

Taken with Tak Mewlon 180 F12, Tak x1.6 Extender and SBIG St2000XM CCD camera. The final image is a composite of 5x2sec RGB for the planet's disc and 10x20s, 10x30s, 10x45s and 1x300s Lum for the satellites and field stars. The series was taken over the period of 8:34pm to 10:26pm with Uranus and the satellites moving against the background of fixed stars, so the composite is a blend of frames from this session.

I’ve attached a screen print from SkyTools for information.

Uranus details:

• Magnitude: 5.72
• Size: 3.7"
• Earth Distance: 19.1 AU
• Sun Distance: 20.0 AU
• Diameter: 51118.0 km

Satellite details:

• Name Mag : PA° : Sep"
• Ariel 14.4 : 199.1 : 8.1
• Umbriel 15.0 : 152.2 : 16.8
• Titania 13.9 : 350.4 : 30.7
• Oberon 14.1 : 63.2 : 16.2

Cheers

Dennis

[Derek Klepp]

Thanks Dennis. Not something I'd usually consider.

[Lee]

Great stuff Dennis - some serious focal length at work!

[pluto (Hugh)]

That is really cool, thanks for posting!

[h0ughy (David)]

unreal Dennis - great work

[Star Catcher (Ted Dobosz)]

Yes, Dennis this is really neat, I like it!
Ted

[Dennis]

Thanks for the comments everyone, I appreciate them.

Uranus was discovered by Sir William Herschel on March 13, 1781 being the 7th planet in the Solar System and the first planet to be discovered beyond the 5 known planets that are visible with the unaided eye.

I managed to find some time to draw in the orbits of the 4 main satellites, based on a simulation in Starry Night Pro Plus. I must have been channelling Sir William!

Sir Frederick William Herschel, KH, FRS was a German-born British astronomer and composer and according to on-line resources, he also discovered Mimas, Enceladus, Titania and Oberon. He was born on November 15, 1738, in Hanover, Germany and died August 25, 1822, in Slough, United Kingdom.

Cheers

Dennis

[EricB (Eric)]

Great stuff Dennis! Thank you.

Eric