My name is Alexey Pozharov, I sent you reports on observing the projection of the Mars terminator in the area of the Arsia volcano in 2020. Three weeks ago, I realized that I was observing some kind of anomalous glow in the equatorial belt of Saturn, too bright. I assume that this is due to the reflection of sunlight from the rings of Saturn and the glow in the upper layers of Saturn's atmosphere. The brightness of this equatorial belt gradually decreases towards the edges of the disk, but is still very high, on par with the rings. I observed it in a 500 mm Newton, 190 mm off-axis aperture, 200 mm Newton. Some observers in Russia confirmed these observations - the equatorial belt is anomalously bright! Has anyone noticed something similar? Tell me the addresses of Saturn specialists for consultation, if it is not difficult for you. Thank you, with respect, Alexey Pozharov.

I can't convey the glow effect with a picture, here's a photo from your resource (the author is indicated) that roughly explains what I'm talking about. Visually, the effect is more noticeable: EZ is equal in brightness to the rings in the central zone, I assume that this is a combination of factors: the Seliger effect, and the glow and scattering of light reflected from Saturn's rings in the upper layers of Saturn's atmosphere, concentrated due to the small angle of incidence of the Sun's light during this period. Please recommend a specialist in Saturn for consultations. From the works of Soviet astronomers, it is clear that this effect was previously observed instrumentally, but its intensity is unclear compared to 2024.

s240914rp1.pdf s240914rp2.pdf

24/9/5の森田光治氏の土星画像（参考掲載）、Saturn image by Mitsuji Morita from 24/9/5 (reference)


[Pozharov Alexey : Stavropol City,Russia]

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