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 2019
SATURN 2008	SATURN 2011	SATURN 2014	SATURN 2017
SATURN 2009	SATURN 2012	SATURN 2015	SATURN 2018

Today is the opposition day of Saturn!  I was fortunate to have good seeing today and clear skies. 

The rings of Saturn are very bright when compared to the very pale disk.  The opposition effect aka Seeliger Effect is not at full swing!  The +63N white spot can be seen rising on this images.   The polar hexagon and polar vortex can also be seen.

Seeing good today. 

It is a few days before opposition.   Saturn's rings are brightening due to Seeliger Effect.  The +63 white and dark spots are obvious in these images.

Seeing was good today.   But my imaging run was cut short due to clouds.

Note the bright spot on the +63N.  There is also a bright spot on the +37N just before the CM.  Note the hump on the NEBs at the CM.  The polar hexagon and the polar vortex are clearly resolved.

Transparency was poor today due to haze.  I also had to deal with some clouds between exposures.

A lot of details can be seen especially in the high contrast image blow.  The polar hexagon is well resolved.   There are dark bands and spots at +63N.  Note also the hump at +40N just after the CM.

Transparency was poor today due to haze and thin clouds.  Seeing was good though.

The southern part of the NEBs (after the CM) shows the wave feature.   The rest of Saturn is quiet.

Seeing was good today but transparency was poor.

The wave feature on the NEBs can be seen on these images.  In the HDR image below, once can see two dark spots inside the polar hexagon.  There is also a tiny dark spot at +76N close to the CM.

Condition was average today.

There are a lot of things going on in this region of Saturn.  There is a white spot just outside the Polar Hexagon at +72N.  Is this the same white spot that Andy Casely observed last April?  There are also two white spots at +68N and +63N on top of each other.   Then there is another bright white spot at +63N at the edge on the right.

There are two prominent dark spots on the IR image.  The one at +56N is fainter while the one at +42N at the CM of the IR image is very prominent. 

Condition was perfect today! 

Note the large white spot at +66N.  This spot has become brighter since I imaged it on May 31!  There is a dark spot just outside the Polar Hexagon.

Condition was good today.

Saturn shows the usual cloud features.   There seems to be some dark spots in the area just outside the polar hexagon.

Condition was close to perfect today.  Amazing details are resolved on Saturn!

Note the bright white spot at +66N before the CM.  This is a storm remnant.  Note also the dark spot at 63N in the IR image.  The RGB image shows some activity in that area.  Some rifting can be seen on the NEBn.  These features are very prominent on the high contrast images below.

The sky was hazy today which made transparency very poor.  Seeing was good.

Note the features resolved using an interesting contrast/setting that I just discovered.  Saturn looks very active with a lot of low contrast features showing up.

I was a bit nervous when I was imaging Saturn.  A huge rain cloud was headed my way.  Fortunately, the wind was slow so I had enough time to get good data with Saturn.  Seeing was excellent.

In the IR image, note the dark spot at +45N before the CM.  This corresponds to a bright spot in the RGB image and very prominent in the HDR image.  Note some features in the area just south of the Polar Hexagon.  There is even a feature that seems to be deforming the side of the Polar Hexagon at the CM.   Note the bright features on the NEBn.

After 2 weeks, I was finally able to image Saturn. Unfortunately, my imaging run was cut short because of clouds.

Note the feature at +66N.  Is this a storm remnant?  There are also features at the NEBn.

Seeing a fair today despite having a tropical cyclone close by. 

Note the white spot on the EZ at the CM.  The other parts of Saturn are quiet in this region.   The polar hexagon and polar vortex are prominent.

Transparency was poor today due to clouds.  Seeing was incredible though.   I had to get more data to compensate for poor transparency.

The +42N dark spot is well resolved in this image!  This feature is only visible when seeing is very good.  In the area at the southern edge of the Polar Hexagon, there are some bright spots or bright features.  There are also some low contrast spots ont he NEBn.

Condition was good today.

This image shows the region that I imaged 5 days ago.  The feature at the edge of the Polar Hexagon has evolved into a complex system.  Note the bright spot at the left edge of +63N. These features are very prominent on the contrast enhanced image below. There are also many low contrast spots on the NEBn.

Seeing was perfect today but I had to deal with some clouds when I took these images.

Note the white feature around the polar hexagon.  The HDR image below shows a lot of features in that region.   There is also some activity at the around around +64N.  Note the white streams on the NEBn.

The last two days were rainy due to a low pressure system in our location.  Today seeing was excellent.  This is my best data this year.

Not the two white spots at the NEBn.   One of the spot is located before the CM while the second spot is towards the right edge. There seems to be a bright spot on the right side of the Polar Hexagon.  The Polar Hexagon and the Polar Vortex is very distinct in the RGB image.  There is also some activity at the +63N area.

Seeing was excellent during most of the session but deteriorated just before sunrise.

Note the brightening in the area just outside the NPR.    There seems to be some dark features in the area in IR.  There seems to be some activity in the NNTeZ and the NNTeB.  I have included a HDR below so these features can be seen clearly.

I overslept today so I was only able to capture a few image of Saturn before sunrise.  Seeing was average this morning.

There is a hint of a white spot at the CM of the NEBn. 

Transparency and seeing was variable today. 

Note the features on the NNTeB.  Are these storm remnants?  Note also the white feature on the NEBn at the CM.

Seeing was excellent this morning.  Unfortunately, my imaging run was cut short by clouds.

There is a white spot on the EZs at the CM.    The Polar Hexagon is distinct. 

Sky conditions were perfect today.

There are a lot of interesting features resolved this image.  Note the small white spot on the NEBn on the left.  Note also the small dark spot on the IR image at the NTB just after the CM.  This corresponds to the feature on the RGB image at the CM.  A dark spot surrounded by some white cloud streak.  There are also two dark spots (IR image) on the NNTeZ.

Transparency was poor today due to haze and some clouds.   Seeing was good though.

Saturn is quiet in this region.  The Polar Hexagon and the Polar Spot are obvious.

Seeing was variable this morning.  No spots on this region.   No unusual features on this region.

Seeing was good when I started imaging Saturn but deteriorated after a while.  When I took the IR image, the sky was partially cloudy so transparency was terrible.

One can see a low contrast white spot on the NTrZ just before the CM.  There is another white spot on the NTeZ just above the first white spot.

Condition was unstable today.  I was only able to stack some data when seeing improved a bit.

There is a hint of the red EZ spot just past the CM.  The polar hexagon and polar spot is obvious in the IR image.

I started imaging early today.  Seeing was good and I was finally able to capture some IR image of Saturn.

Saturn in quiet in this region except for some small white spots on the NEB at the CM.  The Polar Hexagon and the polar storm is distinct in IR.  Note the small dark spot on the NTrZ in the IR image.

I started imaging early today hoping to capture more data for Saturn.  Seeing was perfect.  Unfortunately, my imaging run was cut short because of clouds.  The polar hexagon is prominent this image.   There are two low contrast white spots.  One is on the EZn before the CM and the other directly above it.  There is also an interesting cloud feature on the EZ at the CM.

Seeing was excellent today despite of some thin clouds.

There seems to be some feature on the right side of the north polar area.  What is really interesting is a bright spot just south of the EZ at the CM!  This feature is just peeking above the shadow and is reddish in color.  I remember a red EZ spot last season.

Seeing was perfect today.  I was again limited by sunrise. 

The North Polar Storm can be seen on this image.   There is also another white spot on the CM at the NEBn.  There is also another spot just below the polar storm rising on the left.  The Polar Hexagon and the Polar Spot can also be seen.

Seeing was perfect this morning despite Saturn was only around 45-52 deg during my duration of my imaging run.  I was not able to capture IR because of sunrise.

Saturn's Polar Hexagon and polar spot is well resolved.  Note the bright streak on the dark belt just south of the NPR.

Here is my first Saturn image this season.  Seeing was good today.

The Polar Hexagon was well resolved.  No significant spot visible.