The planet Saturn will be most clearly observed on the night of September 8, NOVA reported.
Early in the morning on Sunday, the planet will be at the closest point of its orbit to the Earth, we read in the “Astronomer Amateur Guide 2024”, a publication of the Department of “Astronomy” of the Faculty of Physics of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
On September 8 at 07:35 Bulgarian time, the planet Saturn will be in the so-called opposition (or opposition) to the Sun, the author of the reference book Pencho Markishki, a physicist from the department of “Astronomy” told BTA. of the Faculty of Physics of the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and from the Institute of Astronomy with NAO at BAS.
In addition to the fact that every outer planet - from Mars to the last one in the solar system - is closest to Earth during its opposition, it is also logically the brightest and with the largest angular diameter, explained Markishki. Then again, the corresponding opposing planet is observed throughout the nights.
„In this case, the best night this year for observing Saturn will be the night of September 8, but since the ringed planet moves slowly in the constellation Aquarius, it is conveniently visible from the beginning of July and will be observed still so easy until about the end of September. On the morning of September 8, Saturn will be at a distance of 1,295,229,080 kilometers from Earth, after which it will slowly begin to move away”, the physicist pointed out.
The oppositions of the outer planets are a good opportunity to direct the attention of our children or students to them, he emphasized. “These phenomena do not portend anything bad or good, as "prophecies" we can often hear from astrologers. "Saturn is a bright planet and is visible to the naked eye as a star-like object," Markishki said.
He recommended amateur astronomers and techniques for observing Saturn. “To spot its ring, however, we would need a spotting scope or telescope with a magnification of at least 30 times. Of course, at magnifications of about 100 or more times, our observations will be far more impressive,” Markishki said.