Four times the fun: See quadruple transit of Saturn's moons

William Atkins
Thursday, 19 February 2009 18:32

Science - Space

Soon thereafter, the smaller moons of Mimas, Dione, and Enceladus will be seen (in that order). At 14:24 UTC (6:24 a.m. PST) all four of the moons will be visible in front of Saturn.

A medium-sized backyard telescope with a quality charge-coupled device (CCD) camera is needed to see the smaller moons of Mimas, Dione, and Enceladus.

NASA states that astronomers with the Hubble Space Telescope will photograph the event.

Besides producing some photographs for the general public, the photo shoot will produce some important scientific images such as images of Saturn’s rings from almost edge-on, which will show “ring-warps” (bending of the plane of the rings), (possible) undiscovered satellites, and new information on the reflectivity of the particles making up the Saturnian rings.

Noll adds, “The transit of Titan will be of particular interest. Researchers plan to use Saturn as a backlight to probe the size and transparency of the giant moon's atmosphere."

Besides seeing the ringed-planet Saturn and four of its moons transiting in front of the planet, sky observers will also be able to see Comet Lulin, as it makes its closest approach to Earth on this date, February 24, 2009.

The comet will be positioned near to Saturn (only a few degrees away), and you’ll be able to see it with a small backyard telescope.

Check-out the iTWire article “Don't miss Comet Lulin approaching Earth: It's green!” for additional information on Comet Lulin.