
- This event has passed.
Saturn at Opposition, 10th May 2014
Saturday, 10th May 2014
Saturn reaches Opposition (this means it is directly opposite the Sun as seen from Earth and so at it’s brightest) on 10th May at 18:00 GMT / 19:00 BST (do note however that it doesn’t rise until about 20:15 BST) reaching Magnitude +0.1 in the constellation of Libra.
You may notice a brightening effect around the time of Opposition, partly caused by the planet’s shadow being almost completely out of sight but mainly from the rings: due to the angles lining up just right, the shadows cast by the ring particles onto other ring particles are hidden, resulting in the rings looking brighter than usual. This is called the Seeliger Effect (Click here for a full explanation and an example of how dramatic the effect can be.)
Astronomy Now article on Saturn’s Opposition for 2014:
http://www.astronomynow.com/news/n1405/06saturn/