Saturn: Photographing the Cassini Division 2018 Update [Rings]

Light travels about 2 hours from the Sun to Saturn to your telescope.   We can spend about that much time searching for the perfect picture of planet and rings.  Because the rings, saturn is most astronomers fan favorite.

About Saturn & The Cassini Division

My Astrophotography quest with Saturn is to photograph clearly the Cassini Division.  It is one of the most identifiable targets in the rings.  Simply because photographing the rings, have been challenged by light pollution, poor seeing, etc.  The Cassini Division is a major separation in the rings of Saturn that spans 3000 miles or 4800 kilometers.  And it is named after, French discoverer Jean D. Cassini.  The division is created by Saturn Moon, Mimas.  In addition it is located between the A and B rings.  By the way, Star Wars Fans, Mimas is often referred to as the Death Star Moon.  Look it up it’s true.

The Challenge

For me this is one of the more interesting features of the ring system.  Although the ring system is extensive, I’ve had little success photographing it clearly.  I do most of my astrophotography from my yard.  Therefore getting a dark sky and very little lights is difficult.  My neighbors have their lights on most of the night and I live on a cul-de-sac with a lamp post in the middle.  Saturn rises above my neighbors house around 10:30 pm and then has to pass several tall pine trees in order to be clearly visible.  Once past most of these factors, I’m still determining the best settings for the Pixel.

The Latest Result

Take at look at this detail.  As always I can do better and therefore achieving dark, clear skies away from the city is my goal.  I took a number of video on this night and this was the best of the group.  Saturn never looked better for me.  It’s a 3D globe with cloud bands visible.  The rings reflect the shadow and the division clearly.  More importantly the result is cool.

Also important, there’s still some noise in the picture, and as I get more experienced with derotation, I will therefore create better results.

Let me know what you think in the comments below. Clear skies!