![]() Below the time buttons and the graphic are three buttons you can use to change the orientation of the diagram to match the view in your telescope. Our Saturn's Moons tool uses Universal Time (UT) beneath the time buttons, the tool shows what it thinks is the offset between UT and your local time, based on your computer's current settings.Īt upper right is a diagram showing the positions of Titan, Rhea, Dione, Tethys, and Enceladus with respect to Saturn and its rings. ![]() ![]() Or click on the buttons in the next row to step backward or forward in increments of 1 day or 1 hour. At upper left is the date and time when it opens, these are initialized to the present (as determined from your computer's clock).Ĭhange the date and time by entering new values in the boxes and clicking the dark gray Recalculate button. Sky & Telescope's Saturn's Moons observing tool, which will open in a new browser window, shows the positions of the planet's brightest satellites, Titan, Rhea, Dione, Tethys, and Enceladus, for any date and time from January 1900 to December 2100. How to Use the Saturn's Moons Observing Tool Available on the iTunes App Store for $2.99. SaturnMoons is an up-to-the-moment guide to the ringed planet and its family of satellites, showing the locations of Saturn's nine largest moons at any date and time. If you enjoy using Saturn's Moons and own an Apple device, check out our mobile app. Moreover, the tool can match the view through your telescope's optical system whether it shows the sky with north up or south up, and either correct-imaged or mirror-reversed. That's where our interactive observing toolįor any date and time between 19, it shows the positions of Titan and four other bright moons: 10th-magnitude Rhea, Tethys, and Dione, and 12th-magnitude Enceladus. A 15- or 20-centimeter (6- or 8-inch) scope may reveal up to four fainter satellites closer to the planet.īut how can you distinguish them from background stars, and how can you tell which moon is which? Even a 60-millimeter (2-inch) telescope will show Saturn's brightest moon, Titan, which shines around 8th magnitude and has a smoggy atmosphere that gives it an orange cast. At the time these images were made, Saturn's brightest moon, Titan, was several ring diameters to the west (right) and outside the field.Īnyone who looks at Saturn through a telescope will notice at least one and possibly several pinpoints of light glimmering near the planet. A short exposure (left) captures only the planet and its rings, whereas an exposure long enough to record the moons (right) drastically overexposes Saturn. Saturn's moons are much fainter than the planet itself.
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