2022-04-26, 02:51 PM
That's really cool Dennis! I always love seeing comparisons to reality.
You are right, that the position of Iapetus is pretty close, and certainly close enough for most purposes, such as identification. But my testing revealed that it is no longer as accurate as I would like it to be. I strive for the positions to always be accurate to less than an arc second, and hopefully less than 0.5" most of the time.
My testing revealed that three moons of Saturn are no longer making the grade. They are: Iapetus, Hyperion, and Titan. Titan really surprises me, as its a pretty major moon. All the other solar system moons are good.
So, no, you can't trust the timing of the upcoming transit. But I will have an update, hopefully in the next few days, that will restore its accuracy.
You are right, that the position of Iapetus is pretty close, and certainly close enough for most purposes, such as identification. But my testing revealed that it is no longer as accurate as I would like it to be. I strive for the positions to always be accurate to less than an arc second, and hopefully less than 0.5" most of the time.
My testing revealed that three moons of Saturn are no longer making the grade. They are: Iapetus, Hyperion, and Titan. Titan really surprises me, as its a pretty major moon. All the other solar system moons are good.
So, no, you can't trust the timing of the upcoming transit. But I will have an update, hopefully in the next few days, that will restore its accuracy.
Clear skies,
Greg
Head Dude at Skyhound
Greg
Head Dude at Skyhound