An Appointment in the Starry Sky丨Saturn will oppose the sun on the 15th, and the public can have a glimpse of the "Lord of the Rings"
Astronomy experts said that on August 15th, Saturn, known as the "Lord of the Rings", will bring an opposition performance. If the weather is fine, the interested public in my country can have a glimpse of this beautiful planet from the evening of the 14th to the early morning of the 15th.
Except for the Earth, Saturn is arguably the most beautiful of the planets in the solar system. First of all, it is very big. Saturn is the second largest gas giant planet in the solar system, only slightly smaller than Jupiter. Secondly, the huge halo adds a lot of color to Saturn, like a "big straw hat" covering it. Very obvious.
When Saturn, the Earth and the Sun are roughly in a straight line, and the Earth is in the middle, it is called Saturn opposition. Before and after opposition, Saturn is closest to the Earth, has the largest apparent diameter, and is the brightest, making it the best time for observation. Saturn's revolution period is 29.5 years, and its synodic period is 378 days, which is 1 year and 13 days. Therefore, the date of Saturn's opposition is about 13 days later than the previous year every year.
Yang Jing, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society and director of the Tianjin Astronomical Society, said that this year's Saturn opposition occurred at 1:10 on August 15. During opposition, Saturn is in Capricorn and has a brightness of magnitude 0.3. On August 14, after the sun sets, Saturn will rise from the east-south, pass the midheaven around midnight, and set in the west-south at sunrise, and will be visible all night long.
Although Saturn's opposition to the sun is not a rare celestial phenomenon, the highlight of each opposition is the angle of Saturn's halo .
"Looking from the Earth, during the approximately 30-year revolution of Saturn, the angle of the rings of Saturn that we see is different every year. Every 15 years or so, the rings of Saturn will face the Earth at the largest angle, and we can see it clearly Saturn's 'big straw hat'; also every 15 years or so, when the side of Saturn's rings is facing the Earth, we will see that the rings 'disappear'. Currently, the opening angle of Saturn's rings is getting smaller every year, and by 2025. In March, the side of Saturn's rings will be facing the Earth, so we can still see a small part of Saturn's rings," Yang Jing said.
During this opposition, the observation time is not limited to the day of the opposition, and there is little difference in the observation results within one month before and after. "In addition to observing Saturn with the naked eye, interested members of the public can also use binoculars or small astronomical telescope for observation. An astronomical telescope with an diameter of about 80 mm can appreciate Saturn's charming rings." Yang Jing explain.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
