Saturn

[Harley (Gilbert)]

Hello There
Viewed Saturn for the fist time last night ,Man what a BUZZ to think i could see 1.4 bill km is unbelivable.I waited for it to come up, was observing the Moon in the mean time once i thought Saturn was visible i pointed my little 4 inch Cel toward it .Slowly i turned the focus my jaw dropped and i just stood there in amazment.I had to run inside to wake up the wife to come and have a look she was also amazed she thinks i'm mad but she was amazed.I stayed up until about midnight just overwhelmed buy it all.Why is it so differant when you look at a Planet or nebula or group of stars in a book or on the net you think yeh that looks awesome but when you see things live you spin out.I read some where when Galileo discovered Saturn he thought the planet had ears or handles. Scopes have come a long way since 1610.I could see a couple of the moons very very small but i did notice a small star or planet between Saturn and the Moon could anyone tell me what i was observing.
Thanks

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by Harley

I could see a couple of the moons very very small but i did notice a small star or planet between Saturn and the Moon could anyone tell me what i was observing.

Welcome to the obsession Harley.
There are several good free astronomy programs to help you identify objects. Cartes du Ceil and Stellarium are the most well known. There are a number relatively inexpensive ones for iOS and/or Android. Sky Safari would be my pick of them.

The brightest object between the Moon and Saturn last night would be Spica. This data comes from Cartes du Ceil.

Alpha Vir
Information from catalog: Stars
Extended Hipparcos Compilation
Visual magnitude: 0.98
HD: 116658
BD: BD-10 3672
Common name: Spica
HIP: 65474
HR: 5056
Colour index: -0.24
Blue magnitude: 0.75
Spectral class: B1IV
Proper motion in right ascension: -42 [mas/y]
Proper motion in declination: -31 [mas/y]
Parallax: 13.1 [mas]
Distance: 249.0 [ly]
Flamsteed number: 67
Bayer: Alp
Constellation: Virgo
Component: A
Radial velocity: 0.0 [km/s]
Magnitude I: 1.281

Coordinates: Mean J2000 Epoch: 2000.0
Mean J2000 RA: 13h25m11.580s DE:-11°09'40.75"
Ecliptic L: +203°50'29" B:-02°03'16"
Galactic L: +316°06'45" B:+50°50'40"

[Shark Bait (Stu)]

Originally Posted by Harley

Viewed Saturn for the fist time last night ,Man what a BUZZ to think i could see 1.4 bill km is unbelivable.I waited for it to come up, was observing the Moon in the mean time once i thought Saturn was visible i pointed my little 4 inch Cel toward it .Slowly i turned the focus my jaw dropped and i just stood there in amazment.I had to run inside to wake up the wife to come and have a look she was also amazed she thinks i'm mad but she was amazed.

My wife thinks I am mad as well. Saturn is an amazing sight. For some reason, even the best images don't have the same impact as when viewed with your own eyes.

Hope these Starry Night screen shots help to answer your question.

[stardust steve (Steve)]

How good is it!? My wife was asking me to show her Saturn before she went to bed she is showing some good interest.....maybe that wil make the next scope purchase easier to persuade her

[Kevnool (Kev)]

Saturn is a great sight for first timers ( It gets the wow factor ).
And yes you saw the star Spica.
I,m sure as you keep observing there will be more wow factors to come.

Cheers