How to Find Saturn in the Night Sky
- 1). Obtain a current map of the night sky. Pull-out versions of sky charts are available inside such publications as "Sky & Telescope" and "Astronomy" magazine. Since Earth and Saturn are both moving along on different paths, Saturn is not always visible in the night sky.
- 2). Find a dark, clear location that is away from city lights. You should be able to see the brightest stars of the main constellations, such as the Big Dipper or Leo.
- 3). Orient yourself with your star chart. This is when you may need to use your flashlight to check the direction the map is facing so you can match North with North on your map. Use a red-tinted flashlight to reduce the night-sky adaptation loss associated with a normal flashlight.
- 4). Locate the ecliptic in the sky. Your star chart should have the ecliptic labeled. The ecliptic is the imaginary line that spans across the night sky on which the planets can be found. The ecliptic runs through the zodiac constellations: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Saturn will be located somewhere on the ecliptic, along with any other planets that are visible during your chosen star-gazing night.
- 5). Consult your star chart to figure out which constellation and in roughly what section of it Saturn is located.
- 6). Scan that constellation in the night sky for a fairly bright, yellowish star that does not appear to twinkle. Planets look like stars to the unaided eye, except for one distinction: they don't twinkle. You won't be able to see Saturn's rings with the unaided eye, but the planet will appear whitish yellow and rather bright.
- 7). Check out Saturn with binoculars or telescope to confirm what you have seen with the naked eye. When you look at Saturn through your telescope, there is no mistaking its signature rings.
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