Wednesday, July 5, 2023

I Once Had the Privilege...

 ...of looking at Saturn through the Clark telescope at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. This is a 24" refractor that is no longer used for science (except for high school and undergraduate student projects). For a fee, you can line up for a brief look through it at whatever they decided to train it on that night, which depends on viewing conditions and where everything is.

That particular night, it was Saturn. I could see it as if I could reach out my hand. It was really cool. The telescope might no longer be useful for science (we have far better ones now), but for education? It's a grand old workhorse.

But that little image of Saturn is not as good as this one:


The rings have a much bigger albedo, and you can see three of the moons. This is an image of Saturn taken by the JWST.

It's the same planet I remember seeing through the old telescope, but the shading...and the brilliance of the ephemeral rings...so beautiful.

(The scientific purpose here is to see if Saturn has any more moons we haven't found yet).

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