Illustration above via NASA; not to scale.
Tonight – June 15, 2017 – look for the ringed planet Saturn in the night sky sky. It’ll be visible from dusk until dawn, because today our planet Earth flies between Saturn and the sun, bringing Saturn to what astronomers call opposition. In other words, Saturn is opposite the sun in Earth’s sky right now. This is a big milestone for our year of observing the ringed planet! We go between Saturn and the sun on June 15 at 10:00 UTC. For the Americas, that places Saturn’s opposition on June 15 at 7 a.m. ADT, 6 a.m. EDT, 5 a.m. CDT, 4 a.m. MDT, 3 a.m. PDT and 2 a.m. AKDT.
How to translate UTC to your time zone
So this is Saturn’s special day, its yearly opposition, when Saturn is opposite the sun in Earth’s sky. As a consequence, Saturn rises in the east at sunset, climbs highest up for the night at midnight and sets in the west at sunrise. It is visible all night, closest and brightest for this year.
Image top of post via theakumalian.com
Although Saturn comes closest to Earth for the year on the same date that it reaches opposition, the ringed comes nowhere as close to Earth as the above diagram might lead you to believe. At present, Saturn lies some 10 times the Earth’s distance from the sun, or 9 times the Earth-sun distance from Earth. (Astronomers refer to the Earth-sun distance as the astronomical unit.) For a realistic depiction of Saturn’s size relative to that of our planet Earth, take a good look at the illustration below.
Contrasting the size of Saturn and its rings with our planet Earth via Hubble Heritage Team.
Mars makes a prominent triangle with 2 other objects – the planet Saturn and star Antares in Scorpius – in 2016. Watch for them in the east each evening, south at your local midnight (overhead or high in the north if you are in the S. Hemisphere) and in the west before dawn.
Don’t assume this is a one-night-only event. Saturn’s opposition guarantees the ringed planet will be in good view throughout June, July and August 2017. You can recognize Saturn because it’s in your southeast sky at dusk and nightfall, and near the star Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. You can distinguish golden Saturn from ruddy Antares by color, either with the unaided eye or binoculars. Also, Saturn tends to shine with a steadier light than the sparkly star Antares.
Saturn will remain a fixture of the evening sky until November 2017. All the while, golden Saturn shines in close vicinity of ruddy Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion.
More tips on seeing Saturn throughout 2017
Enjoying EarthSky so far? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!
The brightness of Saturn at opposition is partly determined by the orientation of its rings with respect to Earth. In 2016, the rings are wide open, tilted by 26-26.8 degrees, showing their northern face to Earth. Image via Hubble Heritage.
What is opposition? Our fast movement in orbit brings Earth between Saturn and the sun every year – or, more precisely, about two weeks later every year. Two years ago, for instance, Saturn’s opposition happened on May 23, 2015. Last year, in 2016, it was June 3. This year, opposition happens on June 15, 2017. Next year, in 2018, Saturn’s opposition will come on June 27. If you recognize this golden world tonight or later this month, you’ll also enjoy it throughout the Northern Hemisphere summer, or Southern Hemisphere winter.
If you had a bird’s-eye view of the solar system today, you’d see our planet Earth passing in between the sun and Saturn. You’d see the sun, Earth, and Saturn lining up in space. But not for long. Earth moves in orbit at 18 miles (29 km) per second in contrast to about 6 miles (9 km) per second for Saturn. Soon, we’ll be pulling ahead of Saturn in the race of the planets.
The inner planets – Mercury and Venus – can never be at opposition, because they orbit the sun inside Earth’s orbit. Only the planets that orbit the sun beyond Earth’s orbit – Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – can ever reach opposition, that is, appear opposite the sun in Earth’s sky.
All the planets farther from the sun reach opposition every time our swifter-moving planet sweeps between the sun and these superior planets – planets that orbit the sun outside of Earth’s orbit. Mars returns to opposition every other year. Jupiter’s opposition happens about one month later each year, whereas Saturn’s opposition occurs about two weeks later yearly. The farther that a planet resides from the sun, the shorter the period of time between successive oppositions.
View larger. Alex Huestick took this photo of Mars, Saturn and the star Antares in the midst of a light fog in late May 2016. Mars is the brightest starlike object. Saturn shines to the east (left) of Mars, and the star Antares is found to the lower right of Saturn. Thank you Alex!
Saturn, the 6th planet outward from the sun, is the most distant world that’s easily visible to the unaided eye. Telescopes revealed its rings in the 17th century. Spacecraft in the 20th century revealed that what we thought of as three rings around Saturn to be thousands of thin, finely detailed rings – made of tiny chunks of ice. Saturn also has 62 moons with confirmed orbits. Only 53 of Saturn’s moons have names, and only 13 have diameters larger than 50 kilometers (about 30 miles).
Saturn is truly a wondrous world of rings and moons. It’s everyone’s favorite thing to celestial object to gaze at through a small telescope, so if there’s a public astronomy night near you this month – go!
The Cassini spacecraft, which has been orbiting Saturn since 2004, has obtained almost unbelievably stunning images of the planet. Here, a crescent moon Rhea occults – or passes in front of – a crescent Saturn. Image via Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA. See more images of Saturn from Cassini.
Bottom line: Look for Saturn at opposition tonight – June 15, 2017. It will be shining in the east this evening, fairly close to the bright star Antares. Can’t see Saturn tonight? No problem. It’ll be in an excellent place to observe throughout June, July and August 2017.
Stunning images of Saturn’s moons Dione and Enceladus
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1U4vZYF
Illustration above via NASA; not to scale.
Tonight – June 15, 2017 – look for the ringed planet Saturn in the night sky sky. It’ll be visible from dusk until dawn, because today our planet Earth flies between Saturn and the sun, bringing Saturn to what astronomers call opposition. In other words, Saturn is opposite the sun in Earth’s sky right now. This is a big milestone for our year of observing the ringed planet! We go between Saturn and the sun on June 15 at 10:00 UTC. For the Americas, that places Saturn’s opposition on June 15 at 7 a.m. ADT, 6 a.m. EDT, 5 a.m. CDT, 4 a.m. MDT, 3 a.m. PDT and 2 a.m. AKDT.
How to translate UTC to your time zone
So this is Saturn’s special day, its yearly opposition, when Saturn is opposite the sun in Earth’s sky. As a consequence, Saturn rises in the east at sunset, climbs highest up for the night at midnight and sets in the west at sunrise. It is visible all night, closest and brightest for this year.
Image top of post via theakumalian.com
Although Saturn comes closest to Earth for the year on the same date that it reaches opposition, the ringed comes nowhere as close to Earth as the above diagram might lead you to believe. At present, Saturn lies some 10 times the Earth’s distance from the sun, or 9 times the Earth-sun distance from Earth. (Astronomers refer to the Earth-sun distance as the astronomical unit.) For a realistic depiction of Saturn’s size relative to that of our planet Earth, take a good look at the illustration below.
Contrasting the size of Saturn and its rings with our planet Earth via Hubble Heritage Team.
Mars makes a prominent triangle with 2 other objects – the planet Saturn and star Antares in Scorpius – in 2016. Watch for them in the east each evening, south at your local midnight (overhead or high in the north if you are in the S. Hemisphere) and in the west before dawn.
Don’t assume this is a one-night-only event. Saturn’s opposition guarantees the ringed planet will be in good view throughout June, July and August 2017. You can recognize Saturn because it’s in your southeast sky at dusk and nightfall, and near the star Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. You can distinguish golden Saturn from ruddy Antares by color, either with the unaided eye or binoculars. Also, Saturn tends to shine with a steadier light than the sparkly star Antares.
Saturn will remain a fixture of the evening sky until November 2017. All the while, golden Saturn shines in close vicinity of ruddy Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion.
More tips on seeing Saturn throughout 2017
Enjoying EarthSky so far? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!
The brightness of Saturn at opposition is partly determined by the orientation of its rings with respect to Earth. In 2016, the rings are wide open, tilted by 26-26.8 degrees, showing their northern face to Earth. Image via Hubble Heritage.
What is opposition? Our fast movement in orbit brings Earth between Saturn and the sun every year – or, more precisely, about two weeks later every year. Two years ago, for instance, Saturn’s opposition happened on May 23, 2015. Last year, in 2016, it was June 3. This year, opposition happens on June 15, 2017. Next year, in 2018, Saturn’s opposition will come on June 27. If you recognize this golden world tonight or later this month, you’ll also enjoy it throughout the Northern Hemisphere summer, or Southern Hemisphere winter.
If you had a bird’s-eye view of the solar system today, you’d see our planet Earth passing in between the sun and Saturn. You’d see the sun, Earth, and Saturn lining up in space. But not for long. Earth moves in orbit at 18 miles (29 km) per second in contrast to about 6 miles (9 km) per second for Saturn. Soon, we’ll be pulling ahead of Saturn in the race of the planets.
The inner planets – Mercury and Venus – can never be at opposition, because they orbit the sun inside Earth’s orbit. Only the planets that orbit the sun beyond Earth’s orbit – Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – can ever reach opposition, that is, appear opposite the sun in Earth’s sky.
All the planets farther from the sun reach opposition every time our swifter-moving planet sweeps between the sun and these superior planets – planets that orbit the sun outside of Earth’s orbit. Mars returns to opposition every other year. Jupiter’s opposition happens about one month later each year, whereas Saturn’s opposition occurs about two weeks later yearly. The farther that a planet resides from the sun, the shorter the period of time between successive oppositions.
View larger. Alex Huestick took this photo of Mars, Saturn and the star Antares in the midst of a light fog in late May 2016. Mars is the brightest starlike object. Saturn shines to the east (left) of Mars, and the star Antares is found to the lower right of Saturn. Thank you Alex!
Saturn, the 6th planet outward from the sun, is the most distant world that’s easily visible to the unaided eye. Telescopes revealed its rings in the 17th century. Spacecraft in the 20th century revealed that what we thought of as three rings around Saturn to be thousands of thin, finely detailed rings – made of tiny chunks of ice. Saturn also has 62 moons with confirmed orbits. Only 53 of Saturn’s moons have names, and only 13 have diameters larger than 50 kilometers (about 30 miles).
Saturn is truly a wondrous world of rings and moons. It’s everyone’s favorite thing to celestial object to gaze at through a small telescope, so if there’s a public astronomy night near you this month – go!
The Cassini spacecraft, which has been orbiting Saturn since 2004, has obtained almost unbelievably stunning images of the planet. Here, a crescent moon Rhea occults – or passes in front of – a crescent Saturn. Image via Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA. See more images of Saturn from Cassini.
Bottom line: Look for Saturn at opposition tonight – June 15, 2017. It will be shining in the east this evening, fairly close to the bright star Antares. Can’t see Saturn tonight? No problem. It’ll be in an excellent place to observe throughout June, July and August 2017.
Stunning images of Saturn’s moons Dione and Enceladus
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1U4vZYF
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