This is Saturn's yearly opposition. It's now opposite the sun in our sky. The moon will be full this week, too, and it's no coincidence that Saturn will be visible near this full moon.
The best time of 2018 for seeing Saturn's glorious rings is upon us. You've seen the photos, but maybe you want to see the rings with your own eyes? Here are a few things to think about.
A new image by Colin Legg in Australia, showing the International Space Station transiting the face of Sunday evening's waxing gibbous moon. Plus information on how you can take a photo like this one.
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The brightness of Saturn at opposition is partly determined by the orientation of its rings with respect to Earth. In 2018, the rings are wide open, showing their northern face to Earth. This is a Hubble Space Telescope image, but you need only a small telescope to view the rings. Viewing Saturn's rings soon? Read me first.
Colin Legg caught the International Space Station crossing the moon's face Sunday night. He wrote: "Tonight's ISS/moon blend. Quite close to home this time - 15 kilometers [9 miles] to the center line .. always lovely to see the conjunction with the unaided eye!"
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