The moon and Saturn are set to fulfill up for an evening swim tonight when the 2 celestial bodies make an in depth approach to one another within the constellation of Aquarius, the Water Bearer.
In the course of the close approach on Tuesday (Oct. 24), the moon will come to inside 2 degrees of the south of Saturn. At around the identical time because the close approach, the 10-day-old moon and the gas giant, which is the second-largest planet within the solar system, will share a right ascension (the celestial equivalent of longitude) in an arrangement astronomers call a conjunction.
From Recent York City, the pairing of the moon and Saturn might be visible within the southeastern sky at sunset. Saturn might be above and to the appropriate of the moon, next to the left leg of the Water Bearer. The moon and Saturn will disappear from the early morning rise just before they sink below the horizon shortly before 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT).
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In the course of the close approach and conjunction, the moon can have a magnitude of -12.5, with the minus prefix indicating a very vivid object within the sky over Earth, while Saturn might be much dimmer with a magnitude of 0.5.
Despite this being an in depth approach, the moon and Saturn will still be too wide apart to be seen through the narrow view of a telescope. The 2 celestial objects needs to be visible together in the broader field of view of some lower-magnification binoculars, nevertheless.
The conjunction between the moon and Saturn in Aquarius must also offer skywatchers the chance to hunt and spot some tougher-to-see astronomical objects. As an illustration, swimming below the solar system bodies might be the magnitude 1.2 star Fomalhaut.
The brightest star in Pisces, Fomalhaut has a mass and width around twice that of the sun and is around 17 times as vivid as our star, making it visible over Earth despite being positioned 25 light-years away. Fomalhaut earned a special place within the history of astronomy when, in 2008, it became the primary star to own an extrasolar planet or “exoplanet” in orbit around it to be imaged directly.
Flying high over the close approach between the moon and Saturn and to the East might be Altair, the brightest star within the constellation Aquila (the Eagle) and the twelfth brightest star within the night sky.
Altair is positioned around 16.7 light years from Earth and has around twice the mass of the sun but is simply 11 times its brightness. It’s believed to be relatively young, with recent estimates putting it at around 100 million years old in comparison with a middle-aged star just like the sun, which is around 4.6 billion years old.
For those who are hoping to catch a have a look at the moon and Saturn in the course of the close approach and conjunction, our guides to the best telescopes and best binoculars are an incredible place to begin.
For those who’re seeking to snap photos of the moon and Saturn or the night sky normally, take a look at our guides on tips on how to photograph the planets or tips on how to photograph the moon, in addition to our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography.