Spectacular Saturn

I was blown away when I first spotted Saturn through a telescope. Seeing this planet and its rings with my own eyes put our solar system and our life within in a different perspective. It kind of made it more real.

And now, when I gaze at the super dark Great Barrier Island sky as part of the Good Heavens team, Saturn is still a favourite. Planet number 6. As you may know, our solar system contains eight planets that orbit around our Sun. Earth is the third closest planet at approximately 150 million kilometers from the Sun. And Saturn orbits a lot further away, at number six, at an average of just over 1400 million kilometers from the Sun.

So what do I love about Saturn?

Saturn’s most special feature are its rings. Some of the other planets do have rings, too, but Saturn has the most spectacular ring system, with seven larger rings and several gaps and divisions between them, and it is spectacular to see these with your own eyes.

Gazing at Saturn

We can’t see the rings separately with our naked eye, nor even with binoculars, but we can easily spot the combined planet and rings with our naked eye. That’s because it is a reasonably bright object, reflecting the light from the Sun. It’s also relatively close to us and doesn’t sparkle like the stars. Instead, it shines with a steady golden sheen, and is currently in front of the constellation Aquarius.

Looking at Saturn through a telescope

When we look at Saturn through an 8” telescope during our Dark Sky Experiences, we can easily make out the rings around this gaseous planet, and at least one of its 145 moons. Another 60 moons were added to the total, just last May. The later additions have only become visible through closer observations with larger and better telescopes.

So when we gaze at Saturn

It is no longer just a bright ‘star’. It is now a planet we know. The sixth planet in our solar system with one or two of its biggest visible moons. We’d love to show you where to find Saturn and tell you a bit more about this beautiful planet. We are looking forward to enjoying Saturn with our stargazers in the evening sky into early 2024.