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Saturn with the naked eye, binoculars and a telescope - YouTube. In August 2022, don't forget to look at Saturn - the planet with rings will be the closest to Earth this year. On August 14,...
by Martin J. Powell. The path of Saturn against the background stars of Aquarius, Pisces, Aries and Taurus from February 2023 to July 2031, with positions marked on the first day of each month (click on the thumbnail for the full-size chart).
5 gen 2023 · The five solar system planets that have been visible with the naked eye throughout the first month of 2023 are Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and finally, the most difficult to spot, the tiny...
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While the planet is at its biggest and brightest for the year, its rings are in a position that won’t be seen again for 15 years.
Arguably the most majestic planet in the solar system, Saturn is about to appear its biggest and brightest in our evening skies for the entire year. What’s more, its iconic rings will be striking a dramatic pose that we won’t see again for more than a decade.
On the night of June 14 in the Western Hemisphere and June 15 in the east, the ringed planet will reach what’s known as opposition, when it lies opposite to the sun in our sky. During this time, Saturn will stay visible all night, rising in the east at sunset and setting in the west at dawn. The planet will also be at its closest to Earth for the year, at about 840 million miles away.
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For sky-watchers, this means Saturn will be shining at its brightest and will appear its largest in backyard telescopes. It will remain well placed for viewing through June and into July.
Hunting down Saturn is easy even with the naked eye: It looks like a striking golden-yellow star within the faint constellation Ophiuchus, which rises in the eastern horizon as night falls. However, a backyard telescope with high magnification will offer the best views of the gas giant planet and its stunning ring system, which currently appears tilted 26.5 degrees toward Earth.
In addition to admiring the rings, sky-watchers with backyard telescopes four inches or more should be able to spot the largest of Saturn’s 62 known moons, Titan and Enceladus, which will appear as tiny dot-like objects on either side of the giant planet.
Bigger than the planet Mercury, Titan is perhaps the most intriguing Saturnian satellite. Shrouded in thick orange smog, the icy orb has lakes and seas filled with liquid hydrocarbons that may harbor the basic ingredients needed for life. Enceladus is also a favored target for astrobiologists, as that geyser-capped moon is thought to contain an ocean under its icy shell that may be capable of supporting life.
After opposition, Saturn will appear in the low southern sky late in the evening for sky-watchers across most of North America and Europe. The best viewing times will be between local midnight and 2 a.m., when the planet will appear at its highest and most visible in the sky.
As a bonus, look out for other stellar superstars that will join Saturn in the coming weeks. For instance, the ringed world will be shining above Antares, the most brilliant star nestled within the neighboring constellation Scorpius. This distinctly orange star is an impressive 600 light-years from Earth but will only be a bit dimmer than Saturn.
And to the far right of Saturn, viewers can find the blue star Spica and the bright creamy-colored planet Jupiter in the neighboring constellation Virgo. The largest planet in the solar system made its closest encounter with Earth for the year in April and so is still putting on a good show. In the coming weeks, it will become part of a dramatic, easily visible lineup with Saturn, Antares, and Spica.
So on the next clear night, look toward the southern sky for the best views of the true lord of the rings and its stunning cosmic companions.
Five planets can be recognized as planets from Earth with the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Under typical dark sky conditions Uranus (magnitude +5.8) can be seen as well with averted vision, as can the asteroid Vesta at its brighter oppositions.
Saturn appears pale yellow to the naked eye. Although never appearing as bright as the other naked eye planets, it is nonetheless obvious when its position is known. At its brightest, Saturn outshines all of the stars except Sirius (magnitude -1.4) and Canopus (magnitude -0.7).
18 giu 2022 · In June 2022, four bright planets can be seen with the naked eye in the morning sky: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It is a beautiful planetary spectacle. Let's see how these planets looks...
