Key Takeaways:
- Saturn, at magnitude 0.6 in Pisces, is observable in the southeast at approximately 30° altitude.
- Titan, Saturn's largest moon, undergoes an occultation behind Saturn, beginning around 11:10 P.M. EDT and concluding by 11:33 P.M. EDT, reappearing between 3:30 A.M. and 4:05 A.M. EDT on the following day. Observation requires a telescope.
- Other Saturnian moons, including Tethys, Dione, and Rhea (10th magnitude), are potentially visible with telescopic assistance; Enceladus and Mimas (12th and 13th magnitude, respectively) may be challenging to observe.
- Provided times for sunrise (6:37 A.M.), sunset (7:15 P.M.), moonrise (9:16 P.M.), and moonset (11:19 A.M.) are based on a location of 40° N 90° W, with the moon phase noted as a waning gibbous (80%).
Saturn draws attention tonight as its largest and brightest moon, Titan, slips behind the disk of the planet late this evening in an occultation. You can find Saturn just over 30° high in the southeast tonight, shining at magnitude 0.6 in Pisces. It’s easy to find without optical aid as the brightest point of light in this region of the sky.
You’ll need a telescope to watch the occultation, which starts shortly after 11 P.M. EDT. You’ll see that Titan is closing in on the planet’s southwestern limb, passing south of the rings. Around 11:10 P.M. EDT the moon reaches the planet’s limb and begins passing behind it, fading as more of its surface disappears from view. By 11:33 P.M. EDT, Titan has completely disappeared. It will cross behind the ringed world over the next few hours, emerging from the southeastern limb between about 3:30 A.M. and 4:05 A.M. EDT on the 12th.
As Titan is slipping from view late this evening, several other moons may be visible as well. The easiest to spot will be 10th-magnitude Tethys, Dione, and Rhea. Tethys sits just off the western edge of the rings, while Dione and Rhea are farther off the rings’ eastern side, in that order in terms of distance from the planet. Twelfth-magnitude Enceladus lies just north of the rings on the western side of the planet and 13th-magnitude Mimas sits just beyond Tethys (also to the west), but these moons may be too dim for small or even medium scopes to spot.
Sunrise: 6:37 A.M.
Sunset: 7:15 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:16 P.M.
Moonset: 11:19 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (80%)
*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.
