Planet Saturn will be very close to Earth on April 28 and can be seen directly opposite to Sun. While the Sun sets in the West, Saturn will rise in the East, Planetary Society of India (PSI) secretary N Raghunandan Kumar told mediapersons here on Thursday.
The next close encounter will be on May 10, 2014, and the last time it appeared was on April 15, 2012. At present, Saturn is seen at a magnitude of 0.9 and will remain so till June 9.
As it remains close to Earth till June 9, enthusiasts can watch the second largest planet in the solar system (after Jupiter) in almost the same brightness until June 9 and the planet will be visible during nights till October, 2013. People can easily spot Saturn with naked eye exactly opposite the Sun between west and southwest direction and it appears like a star, but without twinkle. With a telescope, one can see its magnificent rings too.
During the revolutions of Earth and Saturn around Sun, Saturn comes as close as 1,195 million km to Earth. The two planets go up to 1,658 million km apart during the course of their revolutions. On April 28 at 1.57 pm, the distance between the two planets will be 1,319 million km.
Raghunandan has said the PSI will be organising Saturn observation till October across the state, including Hyderabad, using professional telescopes. Students and others will be invited to the events.
Head of Osmania University astronomy department Prof G Yellaiah and others were present.
