Category: Juno

Last night, I captured the first photo I've ever taken of Saturn. I'm the first to admit that this isn't a spectacular or even good photo by any stretch of the imagination. I can find lots to criticize about it. However, I was surprised that a modest camera with a 300mm zoom lens was able to show the rings and planet so distinctly. This is probably as good as or better than the view Galileo had of Saturn when he discovered its rings with his primitive telescope in July 1610. He couldn't even see them as rings with his telescope. He thought they were smaller planets on either side of the the main body of Saturn. And I should count myself fortunate that my photo turned out as well as it did in the first place. The ten images I took afterward were all blurred by atmospheric turbulence, since Saturn was pretty low in the southeast sky when I shot the photos. Saturn is nearing opposition, which means that the Earth is...