Catch Saturn tonight at its closest point to Earth

[webfact]

Catch Saturn tonight at its closest point to Earth

By The Nation

 

 

Saturn will come closest to Earth tonight (July 21), the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand said, with the planet being visible to the naked eye.

 

An official said that Saturn would be exactly opposite the Sun, while the Earth would orbit between the two and will be approximately 1,346 million kilometres from the planet.

 

“After sunset, Saturn should be visible to the naked eye in the Southeast all night,” an official said. “If you look through a telescope with a diameter of at least 4 inches or magnification over 50 times, you can see Saturn’s A and B rings.”

 

The official added that Jupiter should be visible near Saturn as well.

 

“The institute will set up a telescope at its observatories in Nakhon Ratchasima, Chachoengsao and Songkhla, as well as at Chiang Mai’s Sirindhorn Astronomical Park. People can catch sight of Saturn for free between 6pm and 10pm.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30391673

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-07-21

 

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[smedly]

with it being so close I was thinking Thailands space agency might have been mulling a landing or at least a flyby - didn't they mention they were planning a moon mission a while back

 

Thailand the Space Hub of SEA 

[bluesofa]

Not sure if you can see the rings of Saturn, which were first discovered in 1610 by Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei.

 

(Whereas the rings of Uranus were first discovered more recently in 1977)

 

[Justgrazing]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

If you look through a telescope with a diameter of at least 4 inches or magnification over 50 times, you can see Saturn’s A and B rings.”

I've only got a Sherlock style magnifying glass .. but I'll give it a go .. if anyone's interested I'll file a report tomorrow ..

[Pottinger]

14 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Not sure if you can see the rings of Saturn, which were first discovered in 1610 by Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei.

 

(Whereas the rings of Uranus were first discovered more recently in 1977)

 

I discovered the Rings of Myanus this morning, after last night's vindaloo.

[CRUNCHER]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

with it being so close I was thinking Thailands space agency might have been mulling a landing or at least a flyby - didn't they mention they were planning a moon mission a while back

 

Thailand the Space Hub of SEA 

Nah!!  They haven't been able to sort out the 14 days quarantine yet and you still need insurance.  

[katana]

I downloaded and installed the great Stellarium software recently, a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. Will help you find Saturn, Jupiter and other astronomical objects in the sky.
Have been using it to pinpoint and locate the two planets which have indeed appeared to be visible to the naked for the last few days. (they look just like a couple of bright stars, low on the horizon after sunset).
https://stellarium.org/

[tandor]

2 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Not sure if you can see the rings of Saturn, which were first discovered in 1610 by Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei.

 

(Whereas the rings of Uranus were first discovered more recently in 1977)

 

..have you been peeping again?

[bluesofa]

8 minutes ago, tandor said:

..have you been peeping again?

It's a hard job, but someone's got to do it.

[holy cow cm]

CM is cloudy overcast today and now. It had either rain or clear up because I love these sort of things. 

[Justgrazing]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

People can catch sight of Saturn for free between 6pm and 10pm.

except dodgy f'rrangs who will be expected to pay double .. as you might expect .. 

[Burma Bill]

Makes a change from a "Full Moon" party!

[Reigntax]

14 hours ago, smedly said:

with it being so close I was thinking Thailands space agency might have been mulling a landing or at least a flyby - didn't they mention they were planning a moon mission a while back

 

Thailand the Space Hub of SEA 

Yes but they were concerned about coming incontact with more aliens.

In any case, with Thailand being the centre of the universe Saturn should be the one doing the flyby