Saturn hasn't quite reached opposition -- that time when it is directly
opposite the Sun in the night sky. That will come in late January.
When it does, as you might expect, Saturn rises at about the same time
as the Sun sets.
But right now Saturn rises around 8:00 p.m. a bit north of due east, and
is easily visible by 9:00. (Low eastern horizons are pretty rare around
here!) Each evening it will rise just a little earlier, as Earth
continues circling the Sun.
This weekend the waning Moon passes near Saturn in the sky from our
perspective on Earth, and it serves as a convenient guidepost to find
the beautiful ringed planet.
Here's a short feature from the JPL Saturn Cassini web site that
includes a chart for finding Saturn relative to the Moon over this
coming weekend:
<http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1907>
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://www.whiteoaks.com
Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org
Jane and I have a month full of travel and family plans that will keep
us away from the sidewalk, but there is some fun astronomy to be had.
Today an article about Jane and observing Mars appeared on the NASA web
site, and it has some great tips about how to find Mars in the sky over
the next couple of days. The Moon will be passing nearby and serve as a
nice signpost:
<http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mars_mer_feature_20051209.h…>
In late January, Saturn will reach opposition and return to the evening
sky. We'll certainly be planning some outings for the occasion!
Have a great holiday season!
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://www.whiteoaks.com
Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org
