Key Takeaways:
- Saturn reached opposition at 2 A.M. EDT, exhibiting high visibility throughout the night and presenting optimal viewing conditions for its rings and moons.
- Saturn's apparent magnitude was 0.6 in Pisces, near the Circlet asterism, with a telescopic disk size of 19” and rings spanning 44”. The rings' tilt (1.7°) resulted in an almost edge-on perspective.
- Observations of Saturn's moons were possible, including Titan (2’ west of Saturn), Rhea (1’ east), and Dione (approximately 1’ west). Tethys underwent an occultation behind Saturn around 2:45 A.M. EDT.
- Neptune, situated 2.6° from Saturn, was approaching its own opposition on the 23rd.
Saturn reaches opposition at 2 A.M. EDT, visible all night and offering stunning views of its rings and moons. The ringed planet now rises around sunset and is highest around local midnight, when it stands around 45° high in the south. But you can easily observe beginning around an hour or two after sunset and until an hour or two before sunrise.
Saturn shines at magnitude 0.6 in Pisces, just southeast of the Circlet asterism. Through a telescope, the planet’s disk stretches 19” and its rings reach 44” from end to end. They are tilted at just 1.7° to our line of sight and look nearly edge-on, their shadow on the planet’s cloud tops all but invisible.
Saturn’s largest, brightest moon is Titan, which tonight lies about 2’ west of the planet after crossing the disk yesterday morning. Smaller moons, such as 10th-magnitude Tethys, Rhea, and Dione, are also generally visible. Tonight, Rhea is alone some 1’ east of Saturn, while Dione is nearly the same distance to the planet’s west. Tethys is closing in on Saturn’s southwestern limb from the west early in the evening, then disappears behind the planet in an occultation around 2:45 A.M. EDT on the 22nd (still late on the 21st for the West Coast).
Some 2.6° from Saturn is distant Neptune, which we’ll visit in just a few days when the ice giant reaches opposition on the 23rd.
Sunrise: 6:47 A.M.
Sunset: 6:58 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:33 A.M.
Moonset: 6:52 P.M.
Moon Phase: New
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column.
