Yesterday, on December 27, the moon and Saturn were both visible, stargazers being overjoyed to have the opportunity to observe Saturn early in the morning. Since November, we were not able to spot Saturn in the night sky or the morning sky, before sunrise. At that time, the celestial object was moving, reaching to be lower in the sky of the southwest area until it actually disappeared in the light of the sun.
- On December 27, the moon and Saturn were visible low in the sky.
- Below the thin crescent of the moon, there was Saturn.
- The ringed planet appeared as bright as a star.
On December 10, the ringed planet reached solar conjunction, slowly integrating into the morning sky. On Tuesday, December 27, in the morning, Saturn managed to move away from the sun to be observable in the southwest, lower in the sky. The planet was visible for about 45 minutes before the sun appeared in the sky.
The moon rose in the sky appearing as a line of silver light because it was barely illuminated by the sun, approximately 3%. On December 27, in the morning, the moon occurred low in the sky at about 45 minutes before sunrise. Lower than the moon, straight below it near the horizon, people will be able to spot a bright celestial object which may appear as a star. That will be the ringed planet Saturn.
Specialists argued that the distance between the moon and Saturn will measure approximately five degrees. Thus, Saturn was located below the thin lunar crescent. If you are one of the people passionate about stargazing or watching the night sky displaying the moon and other planets, then you certainly needed a suitable spot to witness this event.
Experts argue that people who really managed to see this splendor in the sky might have looked for a clear area, without trees or buildings standing in their way and blocking the fantastic view. What is more, if you were equipped with some appropriate binoculars, then you certainly had the most spectacular view. These would have helped you distinguish the moon and Saturn despite the bright sky which was gradually illuminated by the rising sun.
Scientists argued that the moon was easier to spot. After that, you only needed to follow the steps indicated and search for Saturn below the moon, close to the horizon. Researchers argued that 2017 is prone to be the year of Saturn since its rings will be at their maximum angle towards our planet.
Image source: wikipedia
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