Tonight – June 15, 2017 – look for the ringed planet Saturn in the night 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.
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. Read more
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.
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. Read more