Really! But more about that later. Right now, during this week, Saturn is at it closest point to Earth and is at its brightest. Jupiter and Venus are also putting on a show in the early evening sky, but to see Saturn through a telescope, these are the perfect conditions. Lucky for all of us, we'll be out at Valley Springs Park in Durham on Friday night with our giant telescopes and knowledgeable staff.
If I asked you to draw a planet, odds are that you'd draw Saturn, mostly because it's the most distinctive of the planets in our solar system. Think about it, if I asked you to draw Pluto, you'd most likely...oh, wait....
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| Saturn |
Saturn is second in size only to Jupiter, is a truly massive feature of our night sky. Despite its incredible size Saturn is made mostly of gas and is so light it would float in a bathtub, if only we could find one big enough! The iconic rings of Saturn are pretty remarkable too. They are made up of ice crystals with a very small amount of rocky material and are often shaped by orbiting moons.
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| Mimas |
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| See, it does look like the Death Star! |
Find yourself mesmerized by Earth's solitary, lonely moon? Imagine having 62 to look at! Saturn has 62 known moons, 53 of which are officially named, and over a hundred moonlets and counting. Some of the more unique moons include Enceladus with its surface geysers; Iapetus, which is completely black on one half and white on the other; Rhea, which has an oxygen atmosphere; and Titan, an aptly-named giant that is larger than Mercury. Our staff favorite, Mimas, looks just like the death star from Star Wars.
Join us this Friday, May 22 from 10:00pm – 11:00pm at Valley Springs Park to get up close and personal with Saturn. We will be joined by staff from NCCU (and their very powerful telescopes) to take a look at Saturn, its rings and if we’re lucky maybe even a few moons. Friday is looking like a great night for star gazing; we hope to see you there!
