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wThursday, January 13, 2005 |
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 "On Thursday, January 13th, Saturn will be 750 million miles from Earth--the closest we get to the ringed planet this year--compared to a maximum distance of almost a billion miles. An astronomer would say "Saturn is at opposition" because Saturn and the Sun are on opposite sides of the sky. The 2005 opposition of Saturn is so perfect that, if you were on Saturn, you would see Earth transiting the face of the Sun. This year's is considered the brightest till the opposition on December 11, 2031.
To find Saturn, step outside around 7:30 p.m. local time and face east. The planet is easy to see almost halfway up the sky. Got a telescope? Point it at Saturn. Even a small department-store 'scope will show the planet's rings. They are breathtaking. You might also notice a little pinprick of light near Saturn. That's Titan, Saturn's largest moon.
The European Space Agency's (ESA's) Huygens probe will attempt to land on Titan on January 14th. With hypothesized methane rain, gasoline seas, hot lightning and icy mountains, Titan could be the weirdest world in the solar system. Or not. No one knows because dense orange clouds hide the giant moon's surface."
posted by
zenbetty at 2:26 AM
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