Titan shadow transit tonight.

[Mark Wagner]

Who is planning on observing this tonight?  Polar transit, so tougher than the last I'd expect.  My local forecast is for good seeing and clear skies.

Here's an idea from Astronomy Magazine of what to expect:

[Richard Navarrete]

Sadly, my eastern/southern sky is blocked by trees and houses. I’m not traveling to observe this.

Richard 

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[Mark Wagner]

I believe this is the last of the series for 15 years.

I'll probably set up across the street from the house.  Streetlights and the moon won't  bother this 

[Ted Hauter]

Lights around help from getting dark adapted for bright planets.

Count me in should be clear.

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[Francesco Meschia]

I will try, also from home. I only have a 5” frac, so I’m not too optimistic.

Francesco

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[Richard Navarrete]

Is a bigger scope needed ?

Richard

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[Ted Hauter]

Going Tele Vue 85. It nearly beat my 180 mak. Seeing good here.

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[Richard Navarrete]

Seeing poor here. 6” SCT .

Richard

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[Francesco Meschia]

Well Titan is only 0.8” in diameter, so will be its shadow. That’s very close to (a tad under, actually) the resolving power of my refractor, I expect this to lower the contrast significantly. 

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[Richard Navarrete]

Thanks, Francesco. That’s within my 6” SCT’s resolving power, although I haven’t seen Titan yet at 250x.

Richard

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[Francesco Meschia]

On the flip side, seeing is very good here. I’m just waiting for Saturn to clear my backyard tree.

[Francesco Meschia]

I think the transit hasn’t begun yet. My SkySafari says to expect first contact at 21:29 PDT from here in Mountain View.

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[Richard Navarrete]

Astronomy mag says Titan starts its transit at 6;30, shadow around 9:30. I think I’m gonna lose Saturn behind trees before that. 🤨

Richard

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[Francesco Meschia]

I hear you; I had to move my telescope from its semi-fixed location, so that Saturn would clear the tree before the shadow’s 1st contact.

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[Vishal Kasliwal]

I see it!!!! The shadow is unmistakable!!

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[Vishal Kasliwal]

From the position, it's Titan that I'm seeing, not the shadow...

[Francesco Meschia]

Yes, I’m seeing Titan as well. I still haven’t spotted the shadow, which should be at very, very high planetary latitudes.

Seeing is exceptionally good. I can see Dione, Thetys, Mimas and possibly Enceladus. 

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[Vishal Kasliwal]

Agreed, seeing is good. I see Dionysus, Tethys, and one of Enclaedes, Mimas, or Rhea - they are really really close together and the moon is washing everything out. I see Titan of course, bit not the shadow.

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[Francesco Meschia]

I still can’t see the shadow per se, but the north polar region of the planet looks strangely asymmetrical, as if the East side was a bit flatter.

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On Oct 5, 2025, at 21:48, Vishal Kasliwal <vishal....@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Francesco Meschia]

I can see the “notch” of the shadow now.

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On Oct 5, 2025, at 21:55, Francesco Meschia <francesc...@gmail.com> wrote:

I still can’t see the shadow per se, but the north polar region of the planet looks strangely asymmetrical, as if the East side was a bit flatter.

[Vishal Kasliwal]

I can also barely make out the notch. If I didn't know that it's supposed to be there, I would miss it...

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[Francesco Meschia]

I’m very glad that I decided to go for the visual experience, instead of trying to image the this and miss this gorgeous seeing.

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On Oct 5, 2025, at 22:05, Vishal Kasliwal <vishal....@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Vishal Kasliwal]

I'm glad I didn't miss this, purely by chance having looked at my phone at just the right time. Thank you all for being an active community! I'm packing it in for the night!!

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[Ted Hauter]

180 mak vs 85mm

Oh yeah, that was Jupiter 🤣

No chance 394x still small disk. Seeing never good here at night. Solar yes 👍

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[Vishal Kasliwal]

I'm using 354x on an 8" Dob - the notch is visible when the seeing holds...

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[Joel Lee]

I’m currently imaging it and seeing is kinda rough. Saturn constantly jumps over here in the east bay. Can’t push past F10. Currently using my 678C with 2 micron pixels on the EdgeHD 9.25. 

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[Ted Hauter]

Good seeing there!

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[Francesco Meschia]

Also very glad that I was wrong about contrast and resolving power. I was really surprised to be able to spot Titan so easily against the backdrop of the planet. Much easier than spotting the Galilean satellites for Jupiter in the same situation.

[Vishal Kasliwal]

Ya, I agree. Spotting Titan much easier than Europe or Io. Too bad it's rarer....

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