Ringed World With “Children” in Tow

Saturn, March 3rd 2008
By Carlos E. Hernandez 

I made an observation of Saturn on March 3, 2008 (03:45 U.T.) using my 9-inch F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain (163x). I noted a good amount of detail over the globe and rings. Both the South Equatorial Belt (SEB) and North Equatorial Belt (NEB) were visible as brownish-reddish bands. The South Polar region (SPR) appeared brownish with a dark center. The North Polar Region (NPR) was also brownish. The inner portion of Ring B was dusky (4/10). Rhea (9.8m) and Dione (10.2m) were visible north and following the planet. Titan (8.4m) was visible preceding and south of the planet.

A digital rendering produced in Photoshop CS3.

Carlos