Finally worked out that the dome of high pressure over us generated some steady pre-dawn skies this morning. A couple of WL images of Saturn attached along with an IR (but the IR had a very low capture rate due to the thin veil of clouds above).  

In WL the northern hemisphere has the NEB as the most obvious planetary feature with a light brown color. As we move north another belt (NNTeB?) is visible, and then the darker NPR atop the globe. The southern hemisphere still seems to have that chilly blue cast to it (although some of that may be accentuated by the post-processing efforts). Interestingly, the far northern reaches of the planet are also beginning to display some blue coloration as seen in both WL images. The IR view provides a much clearer view of the SEB. 

Cassini’s Division is now a challenging object, barely picked up at the tip of the ansae in the 09:24 UT image. The shadow of the rings is bold and prominent, whereas the globe shadow on the rings is more challenging to see as the rings close up. 

Was well worth losing a little sleep to get up early to image this subtle but beautiful planet!

Jim Tomney

Towson, MD US