This is the month to view Saturn! The image above is for about 7pm in the early evening of 4th September. On this date, Saturn is at what is called “opposition” and means its closest to Earth for the year. It also means that this is the ideal time to view Saturn through telescopes.
If you have a telescope and are keen to find Saturn, wait until it rises further above the horizon. Objects are always best viewed in telescopes when they have risen higher in the night sky. This is because when objects are higher, we look through less atmosphere and the view is clearer.
Use the above image as a guide. Astronomical images provided by SkySafari, a Simulation Curriculum Company, All rights reserved www.simulationcurriculum.com.
When and where to look:
7:30pm during October above the eastern horizon.
Something interesting
“Opposition” is a word that astronomers often use. A planet is said to be in “opposition” when it is on the opposite side of Earth to the Sun.
“Opposition” only occurs for planets that are further out from Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Mercury and Venus can never be in “opposition” because their orbits are closer to the Sun than Earth’s. Earth can never be in between these planets and the Sun!