A finales de agosto de 2009, Saturno, en su largo viaje orbital de casi 30 años, llegarà a uno de sus equinoccios, momento en que nos muestra sus anillos "de canto", haciéndolos invisibles para los telescopios aficionados.



Esta curiosidad que podemos ver aprox. cada 15 años, tiene un lado sumamente positivo, y es que , al estar el plano ecuatorial de Saturno "de canto"respecto a nosotros, ya en los meses anteriores (¡ya!) y posteriores podemos observar los tánsitos y ocultaciones del gigantesco satélite Titán por delante (y detrás) del disco del planeta.
Aquí van los inmediatos, que por el horario no son muy favorables a los observadores europeos (salvo algún madrugón ) pero si para los americanos. Esperemos que los próximos nos sean más favorables


If you've looked at Saturn through a telescope recently, clearly the planet is not its usual gorgeous self. Those famous rings are angled nearly edge-on to our line of sight, appearing like a thick line through Saturn's midsection.



Titan’s shadow was an obvious black dot on the planet when Christopher Go of Cebu, Philippines, caught it at 19:50 UT on January 7th. The rings at the time were tilted just 0.9° from our line of sight.

Like the rings, the orbits of Saturn's major satellites are also seen nearly edge-on this year. As a result, the satellites now pass in front of and behind Saturn, casting their tiny shadows onto the planet's face and ducking in and out of its shadow, just like the moons of Jupiter.

Saturn is about twice Jupiter's distance from us, however, and only Titan is a match for Jupiter's Galilean moons in terms of size. Nevertheless, notes Belgian astronomer Jean Meeus, the classic guidebook Saturn by A. F. O. Alexander describes Titan's shadow on Saturn being seen "quite easily" in a small refractor as early as 1862.

Meeus calculated the Titan timetable below so that you can try for yourself. The dates and times are in Universal Time. Oc refers to an occultation of Titan behind Saturn's limb. Ec means eclipse in Saturn's shadow. Tr is a transit of Titan across Saturn's face. Sh refers to Titan casting its shadow onto the planet.

An occultation or eclipse begins when Titan disappears (D) or reappears (R). A transit or shadow passage begins at ingress (I) and ends at egress (E). Each event is gradual, taking several minutes.

Titan and Its Shadow on Saturn
Date UT Event
Apr. 5 9:21 Ec. D.
Apr. 5 13:37 Ec. R.
Apr. 13 7:22 Sh. I.
Apr. 13 11:51 Sh. E.
Apr. 21 8:20 Ec. D.
Apr. 21 13:10 Ec. R.
Apr. 29 6:22 Sh. I.
Apr. 29 11:16 Sh. E.
May 7 7:23 Ec. D.
May 7 12:40 Ec. R.
May 15 5:26 Sh. I.
May 15 10:39 Sh. E.
May 23 6:30 Ec. D.
May 23 12:06 Ec. R.
May 31 4:32 Sh. I.
May 31 10:00 Sh. E.
June 8 5:39 Ec. D.
June 8 11:31 Ec. R.
June 16 3:40 Sh. I.
June 16 9:18 Sh. E.
June 24 4:50 Ec. D.
June 24 10:53 Ec. R.

ya me gustaria ami verloo lo que yo daria por verlo,

Muy interesantes tus informaciones astronómicas, Perejal, gracias por compartirlas.
Salu2

Ya me gustaría verlos los anillos... a ver si hacemos un dia una quedada astronomica y los vemos Perejal