Saturn and the positions of its healthy crop of moons as positioned at around 1am BST on opposition night, 14/15 August. To give yourself the best chance of securing some decent views, an atmospheric dispersion filter is a very handy accessory to employ, as it will correct for atmospheric chromatic dispersion, which causes distracting red and blue fringing at Saturn’s limbs, as Earth’s atmosphere acts like a weak prism. The closer to the horizon your chosen object lies, the more atmosphere or air you are looking through and the more your view deteriorates and the brightness of the object decreases. Observing any astronomical body at an altitude of less than about 30 degrees increases the chance of enduring destructive seeing conditions. At least we can say Saturn is heading northwards, albeit slowly, from its Northern Hemisphere nadir at the oppositions in 2017, 20, when it lounged in Ophiuchus and Sagittarius. Ideally, you’ll want to catch Saturn while its within an hour either side of culmination to benefit from better seeing opportunities. In Scotland, Saturn achieves an elevation of between 18 to 19 degrees. With a declination of 15 degrees south, its location so far south of the celestial equator is far from ideal for observers at mid-northern latitudes, which includes the UK.įrom London, Saturn peaks at an altitude of 23 degrees as it crosses the southern meridian (culminates). Shining at magnitude +0.3 and with a noticeable yellowish tint, Saturn will be an obvious sight when it culminates between about 1am to 1.30am BST.
Saturn through telescope free#
From the UK the constellation of Capricornus is rather a roof-top scrapper from towns and cities, so seek out an observing site with a southern horizon free from major obstructions. Presently, Saturn is tracking retrograde (east to west) among the stars of eastern Capricornus (see the finder chart). AN graphics by Greg Smye-Rumsby.Ī small telescope in the 80–90mm (~three-inch) class operating at 50x is all you’ll need to see Saturn’s two main rings, Rings A and B, as separate structures, to show the flatness (oblateness) of Saturn’s globe (it’s the most oblate or squat planet in the Solar System, more so than Jupiter) and to follow Titan, Saturn’s giant moon, orbiting its parent.
Saturn comes to opposition on 14 August, when it can be found among the stars of Capricornus. Nobody ever forgets the first time they see Saturn sail serenely into the field of view. It only takes one look at Saturn’s majestic system of rings through a telescope and you’re hooked. Even a seasoned, seen-it-all sage never tires of grabbing a look at the most beautiful planet in the Solar System. Saturn is the planet that every casual stargazer or budding amateur astronomer wants to see through a telescope. In fact, Saturn is well placed throughout the remainder of August and into September and October, so if you’re clouded out on Sunday night don’t worry as there’s ample other observing nights to come.
Saturn’s opposition is eagerly awaited as it’s one of the observing highlights of the year. It can be observed among the stars of the southern constellation of Capricornus for most of the night when you watch its steady glow, consider that its reflected light from the Sun, travelling at an unimaginably fast 299,792 kilometres per second, has taken around 67 minutes to wing its way across interplanetary space to hit your eyeballs! The Solar System’s most picturesque planet comes to opposition at 17h UT on 14 August (14/15, night of Sunday into Monday morning), when it lies at the vast distance of 1,324 million kilometres (8.856 astronomical units).
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