Saturn

	Description: A 'true-colour' image of Saturn. Several horizontal bands can be seen, as can the Cassini division in Saturn's rings. Poor seeing that night affected clarity, so the image has been enhanced to bring out detail. Image information: Weighted RVB colour composite taken at 14/01/2006 22:30 UT, R = 1s, V = 0.33s, B = 1s. Image has undergone contrast stretching and an unsharp mask in improve clarity on the bands and rings. Physical information: Diameter: 20.3x18.1", rings 46.0x14.6", distance 8.15AU (1220M km), altitude 25 degrees, magntiude -0.1.
	Description: A digital camera exposure of Saturn on the same night. Poor seeing that night affected clarity, so the image has been enhanced to bring out detail. Image information: Digital camera (Sony DSC-H1) image taken at 14/01/2006 22:00 UT, exp=1/13s, f/2.8, ISO-64, f=6mm. Image has undergone contrast stretching and an unsharp mask in improve clarity on the bands and rings and a 2x2 binning to reduce noise. Physical information: Diameter: 20.3x18.1", rings 46.0x14.6", distance 8.15AU (1220M km), altitude 21 degrees, magntiude -0.1.
	Description: Different night, same Saturn. This is recovered from a "long-exposure" (1/2 sec) image steadied by hand! The shadows of the rings on the planet and vice versa can be made out. Image information: Digital camera (Sony DSC-H1) image taken at 24/01/2006 22:24 UT, exp=1/2s, f/3.5, ISO-64, f=24mm. Image has undergone contrast stretching, noise removal, an unsharp mask and size reduction to improve clarity. Physical information: Diameter: 20.4x18.2", rings 46.2x14.9", distance 8.13AU (1216M km), altitude 47 degrees, magntiude -0.2.
	Description: A much clearer image of Saturn, taken with the 12 inch and my trusty digital camera. The shadow of the planet on the rings (and the ring on the planet) can be seen, along with banding on the planet and the Cassini division in the rings. Image information: Digital camera (Sony DSC-H1) bootstrapped to 12 inch telescope. Taken: 25/02/2006. Image has undergone contrast stretching, noise removal, an unsharp mask and size reduction to improve clarity.
	Description: One of our best images of Saturn with the 24 inch telescope at ST7 camera. With this camera, we are limited by the pixel scale of ~0.7", which means Saturn is always only about 60 pixels across. With sub-arcsecond seeing, we managed to get this image, which shows the shadows of the planets and rings, and the Cassini division within the rings. Notice how the ring plane has tipped since the previous image as Saturn moves around its orbit. Image information: Uncalibrated visible image, combined from R, V and I-band images of 0.12s each. Taken through mist with 1-2 magnitudes extinction. Image has been registered, expanded by 400% and unsharp masked to bring out detail.
	Description: This image highlights the difference between Saturn as seen in visible light and in infrared. Visibly (top), the rings are much bluer than the yellow-ish planet, but they shine much more brightly in the infra-red wavelegnths (bottom). Image information: Uncalibrated visible images, combined from B/V/R and R/V/I-bands images of 0.12s each. Image has been registered, expanded by 400% and unsharp masked to bring out detail. Taken: 17/07/07.

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