[embed width='640' height='480']https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buOdykr-0C0[/embed]
Break out your telescopes! Stargazers will have a stunning view of Saturn this Friday evening, May 23rd, around 10:00 P.M. EDT (2:00 A.M. GMT on Saturday). At that time, Earth will be directly between the Sun and the ringed planet, an arrangement known as Saturn's opposition to the Sun.
As the Sun sets at dusk, Saturn will rise into the night sky, as close to Earth as it will be all year, and glow brilliantly throughout the evening.
A telescope is necessarily to fully appreciate the stunning view of the planet, its rings and 8 of its moons. According to Astronomy Now, a 60mm refractor is "more than adequate to distinguish Saturn's globe and encompassing rings".
For those without a telescope, community observatory Slooh will offer a free live-stream of the event from its Canary Islands telescope beginning at 8:00 P.M. EDT on Friday. Commentary from astronomers will accompany the live show.
http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/space/saturn-will-shine-brilliantly-on-friday-evening/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=DiscoveryChannel
The month of May generally means the end of star party season here in Florida, as schools let out in early June, and humid days make for thunderstorm-laden nights. This also meant that we weren’t about to miss the past rare clear weekend at Starkey Park. Jupiter and Venus rode high in the sky, and even fleeting Mercury and a fine pass of the Hubble Space Telescope over central Florida put in an appearance.
But the ‘star’ of the show was the planet Saturn as it appeared at nightfall low to the southeast. Currently rising about 9:00 PM local, Saturn is joining the evening skies as it approaches opposition next week.
This also means we’ve got every naked eye planet set for prime time evening viewing this week with the exception of Mars, which reaches solar conjunction on June 14, 2015. Mercury will be the first world to break this streak, as it descends into the twilight glare by mid-May.
http://www.universetoday.com/120162/a-guide-to-saturn-through-opposition-2015/
No comments:
Post a Comment