Saturn shining brightly in Northern Hemisphere sky

William Atkins
Wednesday, 27 February 2008 21:01

Science - Space

On the night of February 23-24, 2008, the planet Saturn reached its opposition to the Sun, rising into the sky as the Sun sets below the horizon. The month of March is a good time to view the beautiful planet Saturn in its nightly journey across the starry sky.          

Each night, Saturn reaches its highest point (and brightest) in the sky at around midnight when looking southward. 

At that moment of opposition, which has just passed, the planet Saturn, the Earth, and the Sun lie in a straight line, with the Earth in the middle.

Specifically, Saturn appears below and to the left of the pattern of stars that mark the head and mane of the constellation Leo (the Lion). It appears close to the brightest star in Leo, Regulus.

Saturn rises in the eastern sky at about 7 p.m. local time. A northern map of the sky, shot at about 10 p.m., appears at the BBC Sky Maps and Notes website. It sets in the western sky.

When planets approach opposition they appear to reverse their normal west-to-east motion in the sky (what is called direct motion) and travel westwardly across the sky; what is called retrograde motion.

During this retrograde motion, Saturn will appear to get closer to the star Regulus. By early May 2008, Saturn will resume its direct motion, and start to move away from Regulus.

The sixth planet from the Sun, and the second largest in the solar system, Saturn appears to the naked eye as a yellowish-white star, but without the twinkling normally seen with stars. Instead, it appears with a steady light.

With a backyard telescope, Saturn reveals its beautiful ringed system. Although the telescope may produce a picture of a solid ring, Saturn’s ringed system is billions of particles of dust and rocks (some the size of an automobile).

At this time of opposition (at approximately 4:46 a.m. on Sunday, February 24, 2008), Saturn was at its closest point to Earth. Still, it is about 771 million miles (1.24 billion kilometers) away.

However you will still be able to see the planet with your naked eye and its rings with a backyard telescope, of course, only if you have a clear night sky above you.