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Community photo entitled SATURN and its BIG WHITE STORM by Brian Martin on 07/09/2026 at Riverside CA USA

SATURN and its BIG WHITE STORM

On 07/09/2026 05:00 am by Brian Martin | Website | Riverside CA USA

Today I used the very large telescope to view Saturn and I noticed several things. We have I think two main storm systems possibly three however the most prominent storm belongs to the Southern region where a white cloud can easily be seen on the planet as viewed here toward the lower right of the globe. Littered with other storms in the SEB and main belt region as well as traditional banding. The color is a golden color for the most part nearing the center regions. The rings are open, and beautiful. Both main divisions can be seen but what I truly noticed if you look closely on the rings you are able to spot darker regions and patches known as Spokes. These are very cool areas where the dust in Saturn is darker and thicker but they do not last long each viewing. In fact these things change every other day it seems. Mimas on the left of the ring peeking in.
Videos are each 2 minute Stacks 15 to get better cloud details. Gain was pretty much normal at around 60-70n across the board. This angle of Saturn is looking at it from the South side and the rings will thin out a tad more as we orbit closer to it so right now the rings are at its most widest of the year. The workflow was not easy but with patience and a very above average atmosphere (like I get a ton in Southern California Summers) its worth it. Saturn was around 50 degrees high on average for these takes. It should transition up to the low 50's this year. As always the hardest to get are the way inner rings but they seem to have survived the bit.

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