BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Brad Klein reviews upcoming astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s "Backyard Astronomy Guy," Marty McGuire.
This week, a look at the planet Saturn which is shining particularly brightly.
If skies are clear, Saturn will be easy to spot since it will be the brightest object in the eastern sky after sunset. And it remains visible for most of the night as it travels toward the western horizon.
Like other planets, its apparent brightness changes over time. And for Saturn those changes are even more noticeable since its rings are seen at different angles, and they reflect a lot of the sun’s light.
But this week, it is the relative positions of the sun, the Earth, and the ringed planet that account for Saturn’s brightness.
On Sept. 21, it reaches "opposition" — "meaning Earth finds itself directly between Saturn and the sun,” McGuire said.
So not only is the full sunlit face of Saturn facing the Earth, but the two planets are also as near as they can get to one another.