Saturn is the Brightest it will be for Years
Now is an excellent time to get out those telescopes and watch Saturn. The Earth approaches opposition to it on February 10th. Opposition is a very favorable alignment of two planets, when they are at their closest. This is the closest we’ll get to Saturn for a while, so it’s really worth you time to get out there.
Observing a planet during opposition means that the planet appears larger and bright to us because its the closest its ever going to get. These times always afford the best view of a planet.
As I posted yesterday, Saturn rises in east in the early evening and by about 10:00 pm or so in North America, it is high in the sky, ready for your telescope. There is no better object to look through your telescope for the first time, or to show others who’ve never looked through one. Saturn is also quite lovely in a pair of binoculars, so don’t forget to take those out.
I love being the guy who shows Saturn to someone through a telescope for the first time. They start out saying, “WOW! Look at those rings! That’s totally amazing!” Then they get real quiet for about five minutes or so while the beauty of what they’re looking at sinks in. After that, I get millions of questions. It’s a great time, I highly recommend it.
So, go grab your friends, family, people passing by in the street and help them see the most awesome planet in our solar system. Believe me, they will thank you for it.
For a little more information, here’s another article from Sky and Telescope: Get Hooked on the Ringed Planet
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