Hayadan > Saturn - the pearl of the night sky in December 2002

Saturn - the pearl of the night sky in December 2002

This month Saturn reaches the best viewing angle and the best conditions for viewing the rings

Avi Blizovsky

Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/saturn1202.html

This month, the planet Saturn provides the best conditions for observing it since the seventies and is as bright as it has not been in many years. It shines at minus half intensity. This means that it is brighter than all the Saturn stars except Sirius and Canopus. From night to night during the month of December it will be possible to follow the movement of the planet towards Zeta Tauri, one of the stars in one of the projections of the Taurus system. Until the end of December, Saturn will be in the same field of view as the Cancer Nebula (M1).
Saturn will also come to opposition with the Sun on December 17 so it will rise just as the Sun sets and reach its southern zenith at the local midnight point for all observers on Earth. The planet is eight months away from the perihelion point - its closest point to the sun. Thus Saturn will appear bright until the end of next year. Due to the angle between it and the Earth, the rings will also be seen in their full glory.

A relative proximity of 1.2 billion kilometers from Earth allows a good observation of Saturn's moons. Titan is the brightest (magnitude 8.3) and can be seen orbiting Saturn twice this month. During the first few days of December, Titan will pass south of the planet. Then it will be possible to see Titan to the north of the planet and then it will appear in the north, in the west and back to the south, a cycle that lasts 16 days.