The Ultimate Guide to Observing Saturn
November 11, 2020
There is no more breathtaking object in our Solar System than the sixth planet from the Sun, Saturn. Named after the Roman god Saturnus, Saturn (known in Greek mythology as Cronus) is the god of agriculture and abundance. The planet's opulent rings indeed evoke this image of wealth.
Saturn has captured the admiration of telescope viewers for hundreds of years. Its magnificent rings can singlehandedly claim credit for inspiring countless people worldwide to discover the hobby of astronomy. As any amateur observer can tell you, viewing Saturn's rings through a telescope for the first time is unforgettable. And once you've seen it, the planet will remain a favorite target for years.
Finding Saturn in Summer/Fall 2023
On August 27, at 14:52 GMT (7:52 a.m. PDT), Saturn reaches opposition and will be at its closest approach to Earth with its face fully illuminated by the Sun. During opposition, Saturn shines brighter than any other time of the year at a magnitude of +0.4. The ringed planet will reside in the constellation Aquarius, the water-bearer, appearing as a yellow dot to the naked eye. Saturn will look oval through binoculars; you’ll need a telescope to see its rings and a few of its brightest moons.
So, let us become better acquainted with Saturn, the true "Lord of the Rings." We will share some interesting facts about Saturn, give our recommendations on equipment, point out the planet's must-see features, provide some helpful observing tips, and more.
15 Key Saturn Facts
- Although Galileo Galilei was the first to observe Saturn through a telescope, his tiny refractor was not powerful enough to discern its rings for what they were. Instead, he noted that the gas giant had "lobes." In 1655, Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens was the first to propose that a ring encircled Saturn. Today, history credits the discovery of Saturn's rings to him.
- It takes 29.5 Earth years for Saturn to orbit around the Sun. On Saturn, you would be nearly 30 years old and celebrating your first birthday!
- It would take 9.5 planet Earths lined side-by-side to span Saturn's equatorial diameter and 21 to span its massive rings.
- When Earth and Saturn are at their closest, they lie approximately 746 million miles apart. They can be over a billion miles apart on opposite sides of the Sun.
- If Saturn were hollow, more than 700 Earths could fit inside.
- NASA scientists have confirmed 146 moons orbiting Saturn as of June 8, 2023.
- One of Saturn's smallest moons, Enceladus, is covered in ice and appears to have an ocean hidden below its frozen surface. The Cassini spacecraft has observed water plumes jet into space, revealing a possible habitable environment under its surface.
- Titan is Saturn's largest moon and the second-largest moon in the Solar System. It has a thick yellow-orange atmosphere of methane and nitrogen, and its surface contains liquid methane lakes. Only one space probe, Huygens, descended to its surface and briefly transmitted data back to the Cassini orbiter until its batteries failed.
- Saturn is the least dense planet in the Solar System. If a body of water were large enough to hold it, Saturn would float.
- Like Jupiter, Saturn is hydrogen and helium with no actual landmass. Its top cloud layers are ammonia ice. Below, it is mostly water ice with bands of intermixed ammonium hydrosulfide ice.
- Saturn's largest storm is twice as large as Earth. It is located at the planet's north pole and shaped like a near-perfect hexagon. Voyager first discovered the storm, and, later Cassini mapped it. Australian husband-and-wife team Darryl Milika and Patricia Nicholas were the first amateur astronomers to image the hexagon in 2013 using a Celestron C14.
- Saturn is the flattest planet in the Solar System due to its low density and fast rotation speed. It takes approximately ten and a half hours to make a complete rotation on its axis.
- Although other planets do have rings, Saturn has the most complex ring system in the Solar System. The rings comprise billions of dust particles, ice chunks, and rocky remnants of comets, asteroids, and shattered moons. The rings extend more than 175,000 miles from the planet but are quite thin—only about 100 yards thick. To understand the thinness of the rings, imagine an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper. If the 11" long axis of the sheet represents the span of the rings from one side to the other, the rings' thickness would be 1/100th the thickness of the paper!
- Seven groups (four primary and three fainter) comprise Saturn's rings. Outwards from Saturn, the ring groups are D, C, B, A, F, G, and E.
- Four spacecraft have visited Saturn. Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, and Voyager 2 flew by the planet. Cassini orbited Saturn 294 times from 2004 to 2017, gathering a wealth of information before ending its mission in a fiery (but planned) "death dive."
The Best Equipment for Viewing Saturn
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Telescopes
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Any small telescope with an aperture of at least 50mm and modest power (25x) will be enough to reveal Saturn's rings and its brightest moon, Titan. Maksutov-Cassegrain and Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes (ranging from 4" to 14" in aperture) are our best picks for observing Saturn due to their increased light-gathering ability, longer focal lengths, and ability to accommodate higher magnifications (150x or more). A larger telescope will reveal details in Saturn's atmosphere and its rings when conditions are calm. Consider using a large telescope to be able to observe prominent features. Remember that the larger a telescope's mirror or lens is, the more light it will collect and the better the resolution. However, it will also add more to the cost and weight of the telescope, so carefully consider these factors when choosing your ideal telescope. |
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Filters |
Color filters are a great way to enhance subtle features in Saturn's atmosphere for a more enjoyable observing experience. Filters can individually thread onto the end of eyepiece barrels or be stacked together to enjoy the benefits of multiple filters at once. (Please note that less light passes through to your eye when you stack filters. We only recommend doing so with telescopes of at least 8" aperture.) Here are the most popular filters for enhancing details on Saturn:
Color filters are available in the following Celestron kits: |
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Cameras and Phone Adapters
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Now that you have observed Saturn visually, take your experience to the next level by capturing detailed images of the ringed planet with your smartphone, DSLR, or a planetary imaging camera. Smartphones' built-in cameras are continuously improving. You can hold your phone up directly to the telescope's eyepiece to take advantage of its image scale with higher magnification to capture the planet and its magnificent rings. You can use the smartphone's digital zoom feature to increase Saturn's size. It can be tricky to center your target properly, but using a smartphone adapter like the Basic Phone Adapter #81035 or the NexYZ 3-Axis Universal Smartphone Adapter #81055 will make centering Saturn quick and easy. DSLR cameras are another popular tool you can use to capture Saturn. You will need a T-Adapter (different models are available for your telescope) and a camera-specific T-Ring (i.e., Canon, Nikon, etc.). The T-Ring attaches to your camera's bayonet. Then, the T-Adapter threads onto the T-Ring. Depending on your T-Adapter, it will slide into the eyepiece drawtube or screw directly onto the telescope's rear cell. Planetary imaging cameras are also a great way to capture high-resolution images with tremendous detail—and getting started is easier than you might think! The camera takes the place of your telescope's eyepiece and connects via USB to your computer or laptop. The software analyzes each frame of the live video capture and throws away the blurry images due to poor atmospheric turbulence. It then stacks and perfectly aligns the clearest video frames to create a bright, detailed, colorful image. Celestron's planetary imaging cameras include: |
What to Look for while Observing Saturn
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Rings: The rings are, by far, Saturn's most famous feature. A smaller aperture telescope will show the rings as a tiny cream-colored oval circling the planet. With a larger aperture telescope in steady seeing, the rings will begin to show some of their complex divisions. Look for the main outer A ring and middle B ring separated by the black gap, the Cassini Division. If you are up for a challenge and have access to an 11" or larger telescope under extremely steady seeing, try to hunt for the elusive faint Encke division gap near the outer A ring's edge. Take notice of the ring's tilt over time. In 2017, the rings were at their widest (27 degrees) as seen from Earth. Since then, they have slowly decreased in angle. By 2025, the rings will appear edge-on and—because they are so thin—will virtually disappear, leaving Saturn's appearance as a lonely orb. Gradually, the rings will begin to reopen until they are at maximum tilt again in 2032.
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Seeliger Effect: For a few nights around the time of opposition (when the planet is fully illuminated by the Sun), Saturn's rings shine a bit brighter. Saturn's shadow hides behind the planet during this time, placing more of its ring surface in view. Because the rings are made of tiny particles, their shadows disappear while sunlight reflects into our line of sight. All these factors contribute to Saturn's rings appearing temporarily brighter than normal. |
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Shadows: Observers can witness a fascinating interplay of shadow and light on Saturn. At times, the rings cast interesting shadows onto the planet. Other times, Saturn casts its shadow onto the rings. Observe over many nights to see these changes.. |
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Moons: Amateur telescopes can resolve approximately six of Saturn's 146 moons. Its largest moon, Titan, shines about ninth magnitude and is easily visible. Identify Titan, Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus, and Mimas during your observing session. |
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Belts and Zones: Look for dark belts and zones on Saturn's face. They strongly flow in opposite directions around the entire planet. These regions are much less pronounced than Jupiter's belts and zones and contain smaller storms. Use color filters to help bring out detail. |
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Conjunctions: Planetary alignments, or conjunctions, occur when two or more planets appear very close together in the night sky, creating an illusion that they are close together, but they are thousands of miles apart. Conjunctions are often spectacular, especially involving the largest or brightest planets. Such an event occurred during the 2020 Winter Solstice with the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. |
Helpful Observing Hints
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Tip #1:
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Steady seeing conditions are critical when imaging or observing Saturn. Avoid nights of bad seeing when our atmosphere is turbulent and Saturn appears like a shimmering blob on your laptop screen or in a telescope eyepiece. Start with low magnification and work up if the views remain steady. During a night of good seeing, you will be amazed at how sharp and detailed Saturn will appear—even the Cassini Division will be apparent. |
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Tip #2:
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Ensure you bring your telescope outside about an hour before observing to cool it to ambient temperature. The telescope must reach thermal equilibrium with the outside air temperature, or it could produce distorted views. Telescopes with large mirrors and lenses may take longer to cool down properly for the best views. |
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Tip #3:
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If you own a Newtonian or Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, ensure your telescope's optics are collimated. It can make a difference when it comes to discerning fine planetary detail. If the optics are slightly out of alignment, you may cheat yourself out of seeing Saturn's clearest and sharpest details. Make it a habit to check collimation and adjust once your telescope is cooled down. Most refractor telescopes generally do not need to be collimated. |
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Tip #4: |
Why wait until complete darkness to begin observing Saturn? Saturn is bright enough to be seen in a telescope around dusk. With Celestron's Solar System Align, you can align your computerized telescope on the Moon (if visible) or Sun (with a safe solar filter in place) and then command your telescope to slew to Saturn. Having an optical finderscope is very helpful in finding Saturn in the deepening twilight sky and fine-tuning your alignment. Give it a try! (Remember, always use caution, and keep your telescope pointed far away from the Sun when observing during the day.) |
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Tip #5: |
Saturn displays a noticeable 3-D appearance caused by darkened edges of the planet's disk. A stereo binocular viewer attached to a mid-to large-aperture Schmidt-Cassegrain or Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope will enhance the 3-D effect. It's as if you can reach out and touch the planet! You will need to use two matching eyepieces of the same focal length, which can be costly, but you will be rewarded with an amazing, realistic view full of detail and contrast that makes it an excellent investment. |
Saturn is one of the most exciting planets to view through a telescope. Its rings always steal the show and never fail to be an attractive target for backyard astronomers. Saturn's beauty is so overwhelming that it is not uncommon for first-time observers to ask, "Are you holding up a photo of Saturn in front of the telescope?"
We hope this guide helped you get acquainted with Saturn and will serve as a resource for you and your family during your next observing session.
Clear skies and happy observing!
Other articles you might be interested in: Ultimate Guide to Observing the Universe
