These images were taken using a Celestron  C14  mounted on an Astrophysics AP900GTO mount and a QHY290M 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.

Image acquisition was done using  Torsten Edelmann's Firecapture 2.5 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 2008	SATURN 2011	SATURN 2014	SATURN 2017
SATURN 2009	SATURN 2012	SATURN 2015

Very poor conditions today.  Seeing was terrible and transparency was poor.

There seems to be a hint of the polar storm on the upper right.

Condition was poor today.  Seeing was variable while transparency was poor due to passing clouds.

This is a quiet region of Saturn.  No polar storms here.

It is a day before Saturn's opposition.  I was fortunate to get incredible conditions today!

The Seeliger effect is very obvious now.  Saturn's surface is very pale while the rings are very bright.  The north polar area is a mess with multiple storms visible!  The polar hexagon and vortex is very obvious.

It is 3 days before opposition!   I was suprised that I got perfect seeing today.

The rings of Saturn are brightening showing the Seeliger Effect (Opposition Effect)!  This is when the ice particles of the rings of Saturn lose their shadow as seen from earth and brighten up. 

The EZ red storm in prominent just past the CM.  There is another EZ storm close to the CM. The polar hexagon is distinct.  Note the bright spot just below the polar hexagon.

Poor conditions today.  Seeing was mostly very bad.  Plus I had to pause of 30 min in the middle of my run because of clouds.  This created some derotation distortion on my RGB image.

I was able to capture the Polar Storm.  This feature surprisingly still bright.    There is also a hint of the red EZ storm.  The polar hexagon and the polar vortex are prominent in the IR image.

Very poor conditions this morning. The sky was mostly cloudy and seeing was just horrible!  My data was limited due to clouds.   I would have gone back to bed if it were not for the transit of the Polar Storm. 

Saturn's Polar Storm or what is technically called the Saturn Electrostatic Discharge (SED) is faintly visible in this image.  This is due to very bad seeing. 

Condition was variable this morning. 

The north polar storm is very prominent!  I was surprised that it is very bright!  Saturn's belts and zones are very distinct. 

I had close to perfect conditions this morning.  Seeing was perfect but I had to deal with some clouds during the middle my RGB run.

This is an image of a stormy Saturn.  The Polar Storm is very bright and seems to have spread out!  There is a bright reddish EZ storm.  This storm is very prominent in the R channel.  There is another small storm in the temperate area south of the Polar Storm.

The Polar Hexagon and the Polar Vortex is distinct in the IR image.

I wasn't expecting much today.  Seeing was excellent but transparency was very poor due to clouds.   It was a good thing that I did not give up because I was really tempted to go back to sleep.

I was surprised to see that the Polar Storm has brightened!   I was expecting it to be very low contrast now but it seems to be alive again.  The polar hexagon is very low contrast in this image.

I had a very frustrating imaging run today.  The sky was partially cloudy with a lot of fast moving clouds.   I was only able to get a few data before the sky became overcast.   I would have gone back to bed but Saturn's Polar storm was visible this morning.  Seeing was excellent!

The Polar Storm is just past the CM on this image.  It is very faint and low contrast probably because of the quality of my data.  Note also another white spot on the STeZ before the CM.  This feature seem to have a similar size to the Polar Storm.

The sky was mostly clear when started imaging.  I was so engrossed with my computer screen when all a sudden, it started to drizzle!  In panic, I had to cut short my imaging run!  Seeing was good though.

The remnant of the polar outbreak is distinct in this image.  It is still a white spot.  The Polar Hexagon and the polar vortex is well resolved.

I had a late start with Saturn as weather here had been horrible.  Seeing was surprisingly excellent this morning.

The Polar Hexagon and Polar Vortex are well resolved.  Note the bright EZ spots which are prominent in the Red and IR images.  There are also small bright spots on the NTrZ.