2024 March

The first observation of this apparition was made by Trevor Barry (408mm Newtonian) on Mar 20 from Australia using an IR filter (>685nm) filter. This observation was made under difficult conditions (planet at a very low altitude and tthe sun just coming over the horizon). However the NEB was revealed plus a bright Equatorial Zone. The low inclination of the rings with respect to the Earth (~ 4.8 degrees) was also shown. A similar observation was made on Mar 27 when the Cassini Division was just resolved in each ansae.

2024 April

2024 April
Observations were made by Trevor Barry on April 9 and 15 and by Andy Casely (C14) from Australia on April 11.
Trevor’s images were again made with the IR (>685 nm filter) plus a methane band (889nm) filter on April 15. Andy’s images were made with a R filter and RGB.

The NEB was the most prominent belt with another darker belt at mid temperate latitudes. A fainter SEB was also visible. Both NEB and SEB were visible in the methane image. The EZ was bright with a band in the northern EZ. The ring shadow was projected just south of where the rings crossed the disk.The Cassini Division was visible in both ansae in the RGB image.

Trevor’s images taken on A;pril 15, revealed a spot at a latitude of approximately -55 degrees. A similar object was observed during the previous apparition.