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Amateur astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy managed to make an impressive record of Saturn last Sunday (14), when the planet was at the point of its orbit that is closest to Earth, an event known as “opposition”.
During this period, when the Earth is positioned between Saturn and the Sun, it is possible to observe the planet with the naked eye and it is the best time to make clear images with a more intense brightness.
McCarthy, who lives in Arizona, USA, drove to Los Angeles to take pictures with clear skies, as the weather in his city was cloudy.
He used two cameras and positioned them on top of a building and took more than 100,000 images of Saturn to find the perfect shot and show details of the planet’s famous rings.
Check out the images:
“This was captured using an 11-inch telescope and two cameras, one for color and one for detail,” says McCarthy. “It is created from more than 100,000 individual image frames captured over a period of about 30 minutes in the early morning hours,” he adds, explaining the records.
The “opposition” occurs every 54 weeks, so the next chance to observe this Saturn opposition will be on August 27, 2023.
