Saturday Is ‘Saturn-Day!’ See The Ringed Planet At Its Biggest, Brightest And Best Of 2022 This Weekend

Science Saturday Is ‘Saturn-Day!’ See The Ringed Planet At Its Biggest, Brightest And Best Of 2022 This Weekend Jamie Carter Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I inspire people to go stargazing, watch the Moon, enjoy the night sky New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Aug 11, 2022, 08:00pm EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Saturn in this latest snapshot from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, taken on July 4, 2020, when the .

. . [+] opulent giant world was 839 million miles from Earth.

This new Saturn image was taken during summer in the planet’s northern hemisphere. NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), M.

H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), and the OPAL Team If you’ve never seen the ringed planet Saturn through a telescope then this weekend is when to take a look. What kind of telescope is relevant.

Anything that gives you just a little magnification will allow you to glimpse the incredible ring pattern surrounding the sixth planet from the Sun. Depending on the telescope you may also be able to see its giant moon Titan. Here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening to Saturn, when it’s happening, and how best to be to witness it all.

Saturn at ‘opposition’ in 2022 Saturn goes into opposition this weekend when, on Saturday, August 13, 2022 our planet gets between it and the Sun. That makes the gas giant appear at its brightest of the year in Earth’s sky. Saturn comes to opposition every 378 days.

Why ‘opposition’ is the best time to see Saturn As a consequence of geometry, Saturn’s disk will be entirely illuminated, as seen from the Earth. So Saturn will look at its biggest and brightest and best for all of 2022. As a bonus it’s also the weekend when Saturn rises in the east at dusk and sets in the south at dawn.

So you can watch a “Saturn-rise” and a “Saturn-set” . . .

on “Saturn-day!” Saturday comes from Dies Saturni , Latin for Saturn-day, named after the Roman god Saturn. MORE FOR YOU New Research Finds A Connection Between Domestic Violence And These Two Personality Disorders This Scientist Helps Andean Forests And Ecuador’s Women In STEM Exceptional Fossil Preservation Suggests That Discovering Dinosaur DNA May Not Be Impossible Although the night of opposition is important, the planet will be well-positioned and shining brightly for the next few weeks and months. So you don’t only have to look this weekend.

This Saturn viewing season centers around the planet’s August 14 opposition. The term opposition . .

. [+] indicates when a planet is opposite the Sun from Earth, a time when the planet and Earth also generally make their closest approach to each other. Saturn is in opposition every 378 days, or about once a year.

Lowell Observatory How to see Saturn’s rings If you’ve never seen Saturn’s delicate ring pattern, this weekend is the perfect time because they’re particularly bright in the few days around opposition. The ring system is ideally angled for a good view from the northern hemisphere. Any telescope is fine—even a small 75mm/3-inch telescope will allow you to glimpse the rings.

However, don’t expect a full=frame image—it’s 885 million miles away! How to see Saturn through a massive telescope Get yourself to Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona and you’ll be able to see Saturn’s dazzling system of rings, as well as some of its larger moons, though the historic 24-inch Clark Refractor. The observatory is currently open to the public every night except Tuesday. “Its beautiful rings with the dark gap, the subtle yet stunning colors that are improbably arranged in bands on the planet, the glimpse of Saturn’s largest moon Titan,” said Dr.

Amanda Bosh, a planetary astronomer and Lowell Observatory’s Chief Operating Officer. “Seeing Saturn in detail is truly a joy. ” Where to find Saturn in the night sky The ringed planet is in constellation of Capricorn.

To find it, wait an hour after sunset and look to the southeast. If you have a clear view of the horizon you should see it easily enough as a bright light just above the horizon. A few hours later it will be joined by the much brighter Jupiter.

How Saturn’s position changes The position of Saturn will change throughout the night; it will move higher in the sky, though from mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere it never gets particularly high and it will remain in the southern night sky. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn .

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