There are few things quite as captivating as seeing the rings of Saturn for the first time. This month, on 27 August, the planet will reach opposition, when it lies directly opposite the Sun relative to Earth and will be at its brightest and highest, clearly visible at magnitude +0.4 and reaching around 25° in altitude from the UK. You can find Saturn in Aquarius this year and into 2024.
At the start of August, Saturn will be at its best after midnight. It rises earlier as the month goes on, becoming more of an evening object and by opposition is up all night. It will be relatively low, so we'll be looking at Saturn through more of our own atmosphere. Normally, this isn't ideal for imaging, but you'll want to catch the planet this year, as over the next few years Saturn's rings are going to disappear.
Don't worry! They'll be back. It's just that the apparent tilt of Saturn's rings varies over its 29-year orbit. This year, the rings are tilted down at a 9° angle at opposition, but next year they'll be just 3.7 and by 2025, they'll disappear into an almost imperceptible line as Earth views them edge on. After that they'll become increasingly visible as the southern pole of the planet tips towards us, reaching their maximum inclination of 27° in 2032. In a way, the rings being less tilted is an opportunity as you can watch the rapidly orbiting moons more easily.
Personally, I love to image Saturn, capturing the planet's bands on camera and tracking how the moons move around it. Why not make 2023 the year you get started in planetary photography and record the rings before they go? Doing so is now easier than ever, and it's even possible to capture the planets under skies with a lot of light pollution. I encourage you to have a go- the results can be extremely satisfying.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2023-Ausgabe von BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2023-Ausgabe von BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Could We Find Aliens by Looking for Their Solar Panels?- Designed to reflect ultraviolet and infrared, the panels have a unique fingerprint
Researchers searching for life beyond Earth spend a lot of time thinking about what telltale signs might be detectable astronomically. Forms of unambiguous evidence for the presence of life on another world are known as biosignatures. By extension, techno signatures are indicators of activity by intelligent, civilisation-building life.
Antimatter- In our continuing series, Govert Schilling looks at antimatter, the strange counterpart to most of the matter filling our Universe
Particles and corresponding antiparticles are very much alike, except they have opposite electrical charges. For instance, the antiparticle of the electron - known as the positron - has the same tiny mass, but while electrons carry a negative electrical charge, positrons are positively charged.
Where Have All The Milky Way's Early Stars Gone?- Our Galaxy has a curious lack of pristine stars
The Big Bang produced a Universe filled almost exclusively with hydrogen and helium; all other elements - what astronomers call metals - were produced by stars, supernovae and everything that happens later. So if you can pick out a pristine star with no metals polluting it from among the billions in the Milky Way, then you are likely to have a star dating from our Galaxy's earliest days.
Inside The Sky At Night - Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST
Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST. In July's Sky at Night, we discovered what she's learned since then.
How to stack DSLR data in Siril
Easily combine multiple frames to boost detailin your astro photos
Lunar occultation of Saturn
You'll need to strike a balance on 21 August to capture the Moon covering the ringed planet
How to plot a variable star light curve
A rewarding project to chart stars that change brightness
Smartphone photography with a telescope
Mary Mcintyre explains how to get impressive night-sky images using your phone
Once-a-century solar storm is overdue
If a Carrington Event struck today it would be catastrophic, says Minna Palmroth
The new era of human spaceflight
There's been a step-change in crewed space missions since the dawn of the 21st century. Ben Evans charts its course and looks ahead to future horizons