Starwatch

My favorite planet, besides the one I live on, is on the rise in the low eastern Butler sky during evening twilight. It’s Saturn and you can’t miss it! It’s the brightest starlike object in that part of the sky.

This weekend, Saturn reaches its closest approach to Earth for 2025, just under 795 million miles away, which, believe it or not, is close for Saturn.

Astronomers call this opposition. Not only is the separation in space between Earth and Saturn at a minimum, but the sun and Saturn are at opposite ends of the sky, with the Earth in the middle. That’s why they call it opposition.

Because the sun and Saturn are at opposite ends of the sky, Saturn is available all night long, rising in the east at sunset and setting in the west at sunrise. Opposition happens every 378 da

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