saturn

Guide to Observing Saturn in 2024

August 20, 2024 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

This composite image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on 6 June 2018, shows the ringed planet Saturn with six of its 62 known moons.

Many casual observers get hooked on amateur astronomy after a first look at Saturn through a telescope. More than a few have looked through my small refractor on a night of good seeing and asked of Saturn, “Is it real?”

Oh, it’s real, all right. And incredibly beautiful… the color, the proportions, the apparent 3D perspective of this grand icy world. It is arguably the finest sight accessible with a small telescope. The planet reaches opposition on the September 7-8, 2024 and will remain bright and large in a telescope over the next few months. Here’s how to find it and see it in a small telescope.

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Seeing Saturn in 2018

June 13, 2018 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

saturn Many casual observers get hooked on amateur astronomy after a first look at Saturn through a telescope. More than a few have looked through my small refractor on a night of good seeing and asked of Saturn, “Is it real?” Yes, it is real. And it’s one of the most beautiful things you will ever see. The color of Saturn, the proportions, the apparent 3D perspective of this grand icy world make it arguably the finest sight accessible with a small telescope. The planet reaches opposition on June 27, 2018 and will remain bright and large in a telescope over the next few months. Here’s how to find it and see it in a small telescope.

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Guide to Observing Saturn in 2017

June 22, 2017 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

Oh, it’s real, all right. And incredibly beautiful… the color, the proportions, the apparent 3D perspective of this grand icy world. It is arguably the finest sight accessible with a small telescope. The planet reached opposition on June 15, 2017 and will remain bright and large in a telescope over the next few months. Here’s how to find it and see it in a small telescope.

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The 2016 Saturn Observing Guide

June 2, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

Oh, it’s real, all right. And incredibly beautiful… the color, the proportions, the apparent 3D perspective of this grand icy world. It is arguably the finest sight accessible with a small telescope. The planet reaches opposition on June 3, 2016 and will remain bright and large in a telescope over the next few months. Here’s how to find it and see it in a small telescope.

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Venus and Saturn Meet in the Morning Sky

January 7, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

Venus and Saturn move within 1/2 of a degree of each other on the morning of January 9, 2016. — Venus and Saturn move within 1/2 of a degree of each other in the southeastern predawn sky on the morning of January 9, 2016.

Look to the southeastern sky before dawn on January 9 to see Venus and Saturn make a close approach to each other before sunrise. Venus is the brighter of the two, about 60x brighter than Saturn. The two planets make their closest approach at about 4h Universal Time when they are just 1/10 of a degree apart. This timing favors observers in Europe and Africa. As dawn arrives in the Americas and Australia and New Zealand, the planets will be slightly farther apart but still quite striking. Binoculars will give a good view of the two planets, and a telescope at low-to-medium power will give an excellent view of the face of Venus, which is about 77% illuminated, and the rings and brightest moons of Saturn. [Read more…] about Venus and Saturn Meet in the Morning Sky

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