I was in downtown Fayetteville the other day and noticed that new sculpture in front of the Arts Center on Hay Street. I mean the one with a picture of the planet Saturn on top. The 14-1/2-foot-tall steel structure is by artist Steven Maeck and is titled “Saturnian.”
It is appropriate that the work is shown now because the “real” planet Saturn, not a mere likeness, is about to reach opposition in our evening sky in mid-August. The ringed planet is then near its closest distance to us and is visible all night.
In recent months, Saturn and all the other planets were strictly morning sky objects. But the solar system is a changing place, and now Saturn becomes the first bright planet of the season to come into view during the convenient evening hours.
look southeast
Beginning in mid-August, go out on a clear night and face southeast. Saturn will appear as a bright yellowish “star” that won’t twinkle as much as stars. Saturn will rise around sunset in mid-August and should be well up in the southeast when darkness falls about 1-2 hours later.
Saturn will probably be easily seen and not mistaken for a star, since it will be the brightest object in that part of the sky. It rises later in the evenings before mid-August, but around 8:00 p.m. on August 14, the night it will be closest to us. Saturn will appear near the upper left of the moon on the night of August 11.
about those rings
A live view of Saturn’s famous rings belongs solely to the telescope user. The planet is about 824 million miles from Earth at closest approach on August 14. That’s too far away to discern the planet’s rings with just your eyes or even binoculars. It is so distant that its light takes 73 minutes to travel to Earth.
But point a telescope at at least 30 times magnification toward Saturn and the rings will become apparent, though they may appear as “loops” on either side of the planet, as Galileo wrote when he first pointed his early telescope at Saturn in the early 1900s. XVII century. A small telescope will also show Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, appearing as a star near the planet.
Telescopes in the range of 4 to 12 inches in diameter, at a few hundred times magnification, will clearly and memorably show the rings, as well as the soft cloud bands of Saturn in its atmosphere. A view of Saturn in a telescope has been the one thing that drew generations of people to the hobby of amateur astronomy. There is no other night sky target more impressive than Saturn on a good night with a high quality telescope.
When looking at Saturn with a telescope, a clearer view can be had after the planet moves higher above the horizon, which will not be just after sunset but rather late in the night in August. A planet near the horizon requires us to look through denser, more unstable layers of our atmosphere that can cloud the view. Planets high up generally offer a clearer, more stable view because the layer of air we’re looking through is less thick than when it’s near the horizon. Highly magnified views of objects near the horizon appear “swimming” and unstable, as our atmosphere randomly distorts the object’s light.
The tilt of Saturn’s rings appears to change from our terrestrial perspective as the planet makes its 29½-year journey around the sun. This summer the ring plane is tilted about 14 degrees from our line of sight. The rings are now “closing” as the angle of view decreases. The rings will be presented edge-on in 2025 and will become almost invisible.
Although you may hear Saturn become visible in the evening sky during its opposition on August 14, don’t think the planet will only appear at that time. Saturn will be visible in our evening sky from August to January, so it won’t be a brief appearance.
If you have a telescope, you’ll have plenty of clear nights where you can see the ringed planet and share that view with others.
Also be sure to check out that sculpture in the center and your Saturn at the top.
It’s impressive, but nothing compared to a live view of Saturn in a telescope on a summer night.
If you have any astronomy questions, please send them to Backyard Universe PO Box 297, Stedman, NC 28391 or email [email protected]