These images were taken using a Celestron  C14  mounted on an Astrophysics AP900GTO mount and a QHY5III585M and the QHY5III585C  camera. RGB is done using a set of Chroma Technology RGB filters on a Starlight Xpress Motorized filter wheel.  Methane band images are done using a Chroma Methane Band filter (889nm  18nm bandpass).   Amplification is done using an Astrophysics Convertible Barlow working at 2.5X.  I use an Prima Luce ESATTO 2 focuser.

Image acquisition was done using  Torsten Edelmann's Firecapture 2.7 software.  All images are NORTH UP!    Processing was done using AutoStakkert! and Registax.

For info on Saturn's belts and zones please click this link.

You can also see my past images of Saturn at the ALPO Japan Kansai Branch site.

SATURN 2007	SATURN 2010	SATURN 2013	SATURN 2016	SATURN 2019
SATURN 2008	SATURN 2011	SATURN 2014	SATURN 2017	SATURN 2020
SATURN 2009	SATURN 2012	SATURN 2015	SATURN 2018	SATURN 2021
SATURN 2022	SATURN 2023	SATURN 2024

Seeing was average today. I was fortunate that the cold front disappeared overnight.  This image is a monochrome capture.

There is a low contrast white spot on the SEB on the right after the CM.  The ring is now opening up and no longer a line.

Seeing was excellent today but I had to deal with some clouds.

The rings are getting winder now with a hint of the Cassini Division.  There is a white spot at -43S.

Seeing was good today.  I had to image Saturn shortly after sunset.

My location was not fortunate to witness a Titan transit this season. This is the first time I captured Titan this season. Titan can be seen on the right. On either edge of the rings, one can also see Tethys on the left and Dione on the right. There is a white rift on the SEB at the CM.

Seeing was excellent when I started imaging.  But thin clouds started to appear while I was capturing the methane band images.

The rings are still very thin but they will begin to open up. Tethys are Rhea can be seen to the left of the ring. There is a small red spot at +32N at the CM.

Conditions were a bit unstable today after we were hit by a tropical depression.  I only had a limited imaging time until I was clouded out.

Saturn's rings are still close to it's minima.  Tethys is in transit.  It's shadow can be seen above the ring while Tethys is below the ring.

Conditions were good today. 

We are 3 days before Saturn's rings will reach the lowest angle this season.  The next time we will see something like this will be in 2038.  Dione and Rhea are transiting the ring.

Conditions were good today.

Saturn's rings continue to get thinner.  It will be thinnest on Nov 23.  There seems to be a rift on the SEB which is prominent on the second image.

Seeing was good today.

Saturn are very thin.  I was lucky to capture a Dione transit with it's shadow.  Dione can be seen at the very right edge of the disk.

Super Typhoon Fung wong brought cloudy skies last weekend.  Seeing was average today.

Saturn's rings are at their minimum inclination this season.  We won't be seeing this orientation in 14.5 years!  I was fortunate to also capture a Rhea transit on the rings! It is interesting to see some methane bright spots on the EZ. 

Seeing was very good today.  Unfortunately my imaging run was cut short because of clouds.

The rings are getting narrower again and it will be thinnest mid next month.  If you look at the SEB, the belt is lighter than the NEB.  There is also a dark barge on the SEB just past the CM.  Notice also in the methane band image, there is a bright spot at L: -42.  There is also a white zonal streak on the south pole which wasn't visible  on my Oct 16 image. 

I finally had clear skies.  Conditions were excellent.

Saturns rings are nearly edge on again.  The rings will disappear again around mid-November.  Note the hook like feature at 31N.  Is this a disturbance?

It has been months since my last image.  Unfortunately, conditions here had been horrible due to multiple tropical cyclones.  We also had a major earthquake last week.  Conditions weren't perfect.  Seeing was a little unstable and transparency was variable due to clouds.

Here is an image of Saturn with 4 moons!  Titan is on the far right.   Unfortunately, the Titan transits were not visible in my region this year.  Rhea is on the upper right.  Dione is on the lower left.  Tethys can be seen as a bright spot on the ring on the right.  On the IR image, one can see the shadows of Tethys and Rhea on the right.

Here is my first image of Saturn after over a month of horrible weather.  Seeing was average today but transparency was very poor due to haze and some clouds.

The rings are still dark.  The Cassini division is very prominent.  Rhea can be seen on the right edge of Saturn.

After weeks of horrible weather, I finally had some clearing.  Seeing was good but transparency was horrible as I had to image through thin clouds.

Saturn's rings are still dark.  The Cassini Division can now be seen.  There are no prominent storms visible on Saturn on this region.  Titan can be seen on the lower left.

After days of horrible weather I finally had a clearing.  Seeing was very good today as Saturn is now higher in the sky. 

The rings of Saturn are still dark because we are seeing the underside of the rings.  But the rings are getting brighter in methane band.  The shadow of Rhea can be seen below the ring on the IR image.  Three of Saturn's moons are visible.  The brightest is Rhea, Tethys on the far left and Enceladus on the right below the rings.

Conditions were better today as Saturn gets higher.  But it is still below 40deg from my location.

The rings are slowly showing especially in methane band.  Saturn looks normal with no storms or spots visible.    The south pole is still very dark compared to the the north pole.  Tethys can be seen below the ring in the methane band image.

I had a very short imaging run today because of clouds.  Here is an IR image of Saturn.  Normally the rings are invisible now.  But when histogram is stretched on the the ring area, the rings become visible.  Dione can be see on the left just below the ring.

Saturn is now around 30deg and seeing is much better now.  I'm finally able to capture a proper RGB image of Saturn. The rings are now starting to show up in methane band. No interesting feature is resolved on these images.

I did not expect to image today because it rained hard all night last night.  But somehow there was a clearing on the eastern horizon.  Seeing was still very unstable with Saturn at 24deg.

Saturn is still "ringless".  Even in methane band, no ring can be seen despite the ring being many times brighter in methane band that the surface of Saturn.  Rhea is prominent on the methane band image as a bright spot.  The south polar cap is very dark.

I took an early image of Saturn  today.   Saturn was only 14 deg above the horizon and seeing was horrible especially with the rising sun and twilight.

It is a bit weird seeing Saturn without any rings!  Because of it's current orientation, we can only see the shadow of the rings.