Saturn positions

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The Saturn takes 29.457 years for a solar circumnavigation why he annually by an average of less than half a zodiac sign emigrated. After 29 years, the earth has overtaken it almost 28 times and a new cycle begins. It becomes even more precise if you take 59 years for two cycles.

If it is in opposition at the turn of the year, as in 2003/2004, the point in time is nominally in the zodiac sign of Capricorn, but the sun is one constellation behind, in Sagittarius, since the earth's axis has been around 2100 years ago since the constellations were determined in the calendar about 2100 years ago 30 ° (≈360 ° × 2,100 ÷ 25,800, see precession constant ), which corresponds to the average east-west circumference of a zodiac sign. The opposite Saturn is therefore six constellations further / back, in Gemini.

Brightness over the course of the year

Visibility of Saturn's rings from 2001 to 2029

On July 26, 2003 (9.0309 AU ), on November 28, 2032 (9.0149 AU), on June 5, 2062 (9.0310) and on October 23, 2091 ( 9.0143 AU) the Saturn is in the southwest of the constellation Gemini (leg area of ​​Castor) in perihelion and is closest to the sun. If the sun is in opposition to the ring planet in the west of Sagittarius, which is opposite the Gemini, which is the case approximately in the second half of December, the distance of this to the earth is hardly more than 8 AU and the apparent size increases to over 20.6 arc seconds - which is more than the average apparent size of the much closer Mars . It can then reach an apparent magnitude of up to −0.48 mag.

In aphelion , Saturn was and is in the northwest of Sagittarius on April 17, 2018 (10.0656 AU), on July 15, 2047 (10.0461 AU), on March 2, 2077 ( 10.0669 AU) and again on 29 May 2106 (10.0504 AU). If the sun is in opposition to the ring planet in the western Gemini, which is the case in the second half of June, the distance between the earth and Saturn is significantly more than 9 AU and the apparent size is only 18.4, which is below the average size of Mars lies. Its apparent brightness is then a maximum of ± 0 mag.

However, Saturn is not, like all other planets, the darkest in aphelion! This is due to his rings . Both in perihelion (e.g. 2003) and aphelion (e.g. 2018) these are inclined at almost a maximum (27 °) and expand the apparent size of the planet noticeably compared to the calculated values ​​for the planet itself, during March (Oppositions 2009 and 2010) and in September (Oppositions 2024 and 2025) the rings are almost invisible due to a lack of inclination - see the picture opposite! The apparent brightness drops to values ​​of over +0.5 mag in March and even over +0.6 mag in September. In opposition on March 16, 2039 the rings disappear almost completely at an inclination of only 0.6 °, the apparent brightness drops to 0.62 mag; The same happens on September 16, 2054 (+0.67 mag).

Orbit inclination

The orbit of Saturn is inclined by 2.484 ° to the ecliptic . In conjunction around mid-October, Saturn is about 9.93 AU away from the sun (i.e. 10.93 from the earth) and is maximally raised; its elevation angle relative to the earth is then about 2.484 ° × 9.93 ÷ 10.93 ≈ 2.26 ° = 135.4 '(October 13, 2011: 135.0'). In conjunction in mid-April, its distance to the Sun is only about 9.33 AU, which is why the maximum dip is 2.484 ° × 9.33 ÷ 10.33 ≈ 2.24 ° = 134.6 '(April 7, 2027 and April 20 2028: 133.8 ').

The nodes of its orbit to the ecliptic pierces the Saturn about when July is mid-January or mid conjunct. Then the central angle can fall below 16 arc minutes ( apparent size of the sun) and there can be an occlusion . This usually happens once in February and once in August within an over-cycle of 29½ years. However, this rule value can also be missed. In 2004, on July 8th, the value was only just reached at −16.0 ', so that the coverage was only a contact with scarce partial coverage of the ring, while in the following year 2005 on July 23rd at +17.0' coverage in the other direction was missed. After a sufficient amount of offset, both angles could finally be ± 16.5 ', which is why there would be no coverage at all in the over-cycle . However, the apparent size of the sun would also be considered here, which fluctuates between 31.5 and 32.5 'and still needs to be expanded by around 0.3' of Saturn. In July the sun is aphelion and its diameter is only 31.46 ', the apparent size of Saturn on July 8, 2004 was only about 0.27'. This leads to a solar radius of 15.73 ', according to which Saturn should actually have been removed by its own apparent radius.

Table of constellations from 2002 to 2063

The following table shows the special constellations of Saturn along with planetary loops for the end of 2002 to mid-2063. Coverings are highlighted in bold in the right column, as are maximum uplifts and subsidence. Extremal values ​​are also bolded in the other columns of numbers, and in the case of the inclination of the orbit there are also approximate zeros (below 4 °). If the opposition lies on the border between two constellations, it should be noted that due to the retrograde, Saturn moves into the first-mentioned constellation, while it has actually already been in the second-mentioned constellation, which it only passes through again afterwards.

The values ​​relate to 51.5 ° north latitude ( Dortmund , Göttingen , Halle (Saale) ) and the date, if applicable, to Dortmund (or Bern ; 7.5 ° east longitude).

Stationary,
then retrograde 		Opposition to the sun Stationary,
then clockwise 		Conjunction with the sun
date Distance
( AE ) 		Brightness
( mag ) 		Apparent
size ( ″ ) 		Ring
inclination (°) 		Constellation date Center
-to- center distance ( ′ )
Oct 11, 2002 Dec 17, 2002 8,052 AU −0.48 mag 20.64 ″ −26.6 ° Taurus / Gemini (N),
Orion (S)		 Feb 22, 2003 June 24, 2003 0−48.1 ′
Oct 26, 2003 Dec 31, 2003 8,050 AU −0.46 mag 20.64 ″ −25.5 ° Twins 0March 7, 2004 0July 8, 2004 0- 16.0 ′
0Nov 8, 2004 Jan. 14, 2005 8.076 AU −0.38 mag 20.58 ″ −22.8 ° Gemini / Cancer March 22, 2005 July 23, 2005 0+17.0 ′
Nov 22, 2005 Jan. 27, 2006 8.127 AU −0.24 mag 20.45 ″ −18.9 ° cancer 0April 5, 2006 0Aug 8, 2006 0+48.5 ′
0Dec 6, 2006 Feb 10, 2007 8,200 AU −0.04 mag 20.27 ″ −13.9 ° Cancer / Leo April 19, 2007 Aug 21, 2007 0+76.8 ′
Dec 19, 2007 Feb. 24, 2008 8.291 AU +0.21 mag 20.04 ″ 0−8.4 ° lion 0May 3, 2008 04th Sep 2008 +100.2 ′
Dec 31, 2008 0March 8, 2009 8,394 AU +0.50 mag 19.80 ″ 0- 2.6 ° Leo / Virgo May 17, 2009 17 Sep 2009 +118.2 ′
Jan. 14, 2010 March 22, 2010 8.504 AU +0.53 mag 19.54 ″ 0+ 3.2 ° Virgin May 30, 2010 0Oct 1, 2010 +129.6 ′
Jan. 26, 2011 0April 4, 2011 8.614 AU +0.36 mag 19.29 ″ 0+ 8.7 ° Virgin June 13, 2011 Oct 13, 2011 +135.0 ′
0Feb 7, 2012 April 15, 2012 8.720 AU +0.23 mag 19.06 ″ + 13.7 ° Virgin June 25, 2012 Oct 25, 2012 +133.8 ′
Feb. 18, 2013 April 28, 2013 8.816 AU +0.13 mag 18.85 ″ + 18.1 ° Virgo / Libra 0July 8, 2013 0Nov 6, 2013 +127.2 ′
0March 2, 2014 May 10, 2014 8,900 AU +0.07 mag 18.67 ″ + 21.7 ° Libra 20th July 2014 Nov 18, 2014 +114.6 ′
March 14, 2015 May 23, 2015 8,967 AU +0.03 mag 18.53 ″ + 24.4 ° Libra / Scorpio 0Aug 2, 2015 Nov 30, 2015 0+98.4 ′
March 25, 2016 03rd June 2016 9.015 AU +0.01 mag 18.44 ″ + 26.0 ° Snake Bearer (N) /
Scorpio (S)		 13 Aug 2016 Dec 10, 2016 0+78.0 ′
0April 6, 2017 15th June 2017 9.043 AU +0.01 mag 18.38 ″ + 26.6 ° Snake Bearer
(N of Scorpio)		 25 Aug 2017 Dec 21, 2017 0+54.4 ′
April 18, 2018 June 27, 2018 9.049 AU +0.02 mag 18.37 ″ + 26.0 ° Sagittarius 06 Sep 2018 0Jan. 2, 2019 0+28.9 ′
April 30, 2019 0July 9, 2019 9.033 AU +0.05 mag 18.40 ″ + 24.3 ° Sagittarius Sep 18 2019 Jan. 13, 2020 00+ 2.4 ′
May 11, 2020 July 21, 2020 8.995 AU +0.10 mag 18.48 ″ + 21.7 ° Sagittarius / Capricorn 29 Sep 2020 Jan. 24, 2021 0−24.8 ′
May 23, 2021 0Aug 2, 2021 8.935 AU +0.18 mag 18.60 ″ + 18.1 ° Capricorn 11.Oct. 2021 0Feb 4, 2022 0−51.1 ′
0June 4, 2022 Aug 14, 2022 8,857 AU +0.28 mag 18.76 ″ + 13.8 ° Capricorn Oct 23, 2022 Feb 16, 2023 0−75.6 ′
June 17, 2023 27 Aug 2023 8.763 AU +0.41 mag 18.97 ″ 0+ 8.9 ° Aquarius 0Nov 4, 2023 Feb 28, 2024 0−97.2 ′
June 29, 2024 08 Sep 2024 8,658 AU +0.57 mag 19.20 ″ 0+ 3.5 ° Aquarius Nov 15, 2024 March 12, 2025 −115.2 ′
July 13, 2025 21 Sep 2025 8.547 AU +0.62 mag 19.45 ″ 0- 1.8 ° Fish (N) /
Whale (S)		 Nov 28, 2025 March 25, 2026 −127.2 ′
July 26, 2026 Oct 4, 2026 8,434 AU +0.33 mag 19.70 ″ 0−7.7 ° Fish (N) /
Whale (S)		 Dec 11, 2026 0April 7, 2027 −133.8 ′
09 Aug 2027 Oct 18, 2027 8.326 AU +0.07 mag 19.96 ″ −13.2 ° fishes Dec 24, 2027 April 20, 2028 −133.8 ′
23 Aug 2028 Oct 30, 2028 8.228 AU −0.14 mag 20.20 ″ −18.2 ° Whale
(S of Aries )		 0Jan 5, 2029 0May 4, 2029 −126.0 ′
06 Sep 2029 Nov 13, 2029 8.144 AU −0.31 mag 20.41 ″ −22.3 ° Aries (N), whale
(S) / Taurus		 Jan. 19, 2030 May 19, 2030 −111.0 ′
Sep 20 2030 Nov 27, 2030 8,082 AU −0.42 mag 20.56 ″ −25.2 ° bull 0Feb 2, 2031 0June 3, 2031 0−88.8 ′
05.Oct. 2031 Dec 11, 2031 8.043 AU −0.48 mag 20.66 ″ −26.6 ° bull Feb 16, 2032 June 17, 2032 0−61.8 ′
Oct 19, 2032 Dec 24, 2032 8.032 AU -0.48 mag 20.69 ″ -26.3 ° Twins 0March 1, 2033 0July 2, 2033 0−30.6 ′
0Nov 2, 2033 0Jan 8, 2034 8.048 AU −0.43 mag 20.65 ″ −24.3 ° Twins March 16, 2034 July 17, 2034 00+ 2.4 ′
Nov 16, 2034 Jan. 22, 2035 8.092 AU -0.32 mag 20.54 ″ -20.8 ° cancer March 30, 2035 0Aug 1, 2035 0+34.7 ′
Nov 30, 2035 0Feb 5, 2036 8.159 AU −0.15 mag 20.37 ″ -16.3 ° cancer April 13, 2036 Aug 15, 2036 0+64.8 ′
Dec 13, 2036 Feb 17, 2037 8.247 AU +0.08 mag 20.15 ″ −11.0 ° lion April 27, 2037 29 Aug 2037 0+90.6 ′
Dec 26, 2037 03rd Mar 2038 8,350 AU +0.35 mag 19.90 ″ −5.2 ° lion May 11, 2038 Sep 12 2038 0+111.0 ′
0Jan 8, 2039 March 16, 2039 8,461 AU +0.63 mag 19.64 ″ + 0.6 ° Virgin May 25, 2039 25 Sep 2039 0+125.4 ′
Jan. 21, 2040 28 Mar 2040 8,573 AU +0.44 mag 19.39 ″ + 6.2 ° Virgin 0June 6, 2040 0Oct 7, 2040 0+133.2 ′
0Feb 1, 2041 April 10, 2041 8.682 AU +0.29 mag 19.14 ″ + 14.0 ° Virgin June 20, 2041 Oct 20, 2041 +135.0 ′
Feb 13, 2042 April 23, 2042 8.780 AU +0.18 mag 18.93 ″ + 16.2 ° Virgin 0July 3, 2042 0Nov 1, 2042 +130.8 ′
Feb 26, 2043 05th of May. 2043 8.866 AU +0.10 mag 18.75 ″ + 20.2 ° Libra July 15, 2043 Nov 13, 2043 +120.6 ′
0March 8, 2044 May 17, 2044 8.936 AU +0.04 mag 18.60 ″ + 23.3 ° Libra July 27, 2044 Nov 24, 2044 ′ +105.6
March 20, 2045 May 29, 2045 8,987 AU +0.01 mag 18.49 ″ + 25.5 ° Snake Bearer (N) /
Scorpio (S)		 0Aug 8, 2045 06 Dec 2045 0+87.0 ′
0April 1, 2046 June 10, 2046 9,019 AU −0.00 mag 18.43 ″ + 26.5 ° Snake Bearer
(N of Scorpio)		 Aug 20, 2046 Dec 17, 2046 0+64.8 ′
April 13, 2047 June 22, 2047 9,030 AU +0.00 mag 18.40 ″ + 26.4 ° Sagittarius 0Sep 1 2047 Dec 28, 2047 +39.9 ′
April 24, 2048 0July 4, 2048 9,020 AU +0.02 mag 18.43 ″ + 25.2 ° Sagittarius Sep 12 2048 0Jan 8, 2049 0+ 13.5 ′
0May 6, 2049 July 16, 2049 8,989 AU +0.06 mag 18.49 ″ + 23.0 ° Sagittarius Sep 24 2049 Jan. 19, 2050 0- 13.5 ′
May 18, 2050 July 28, 2050 8,939 AU +0.13 mag 18.59 ″ + 19.8 ° Capricorn 0Oct 6, 2050 Jan 31, 2051 0−40.2 ′
May 31, 2051 0Aug 9, 2051 8.870 AU +0.22 mag 18.74 ″ + 15.8 ° Capricorn Oct 18, 2051 Feb 12, 2052 0−65.4 ′
June 11, 2052 Aug 21, 2052 8.786 AU +0.33 mag 18.92 ″ + 11.2 ° Aquarius Oct. 29, 2052 23 Feb 2053 0−88.8 ′
June 24, 2053 03rd Sep 2053 8,690 AU +0.48 mag 19.12 ″ + 6.1 ° Aquarius Nov 10, 2053 0March 7, 2054 −108.0 ′
0July 7, 2054 16 Sep 2054 8.586 AU +0.67 mag 19.36 ″ 0+ 0.6 ° Aquarius / Pisces (N),
Whale (S)		 Nov 23, 2054 March 20, 2055 -123.0 ′
July 21, 2055 29 Sep 2055 8,479 AU +0.45 mag 19.60 ″ −5.1 ° Fish (N) /
Whale (S)		 06 Dec 2055 0April 1, 2056 −132.0 ′
0Aug 3, 2056 Oct 11, 2056 8.374 AU +0.18 mag 19.85 ″ −10.6 ° fishes Dec 18, 2056 April 15, 2057 −134.4 ′
17 Aug 2057 Oct 25, 2057 8.276 AU −0.05 mag 20.08 ″ −15.8 ° Fish / Whale
(S of Aries)		 Dec 31, 2057 April 29, 2058 0−129.6 ′
31 Aug 2058 0Nov 8, 2058 8.191 AU −0.23 mag 20.29 ″ −20.4 ° Aries (N) /
Whale (S)		 Jan. 13, 2059 May 13, 2059 −117.6 ′
Sep 15 2059 Nov 22, 2059 8,123 AU −0.37 mag 20.46 ″ −23.9 ° bull Jan 27, 2060 May 27, 2060 0+98.4 ′
28 Sep 2060 0Dec 5, 2060 8,074 AU −0.45 mag 20.58 ″ −26.1 ° bull 0Feb 9, 2061 June 11, 2061 0−73.2 ′
Oct 13, 2061 19 Dec 2061 8,050 AU −0.48 mag 20.65 ″ −26.5 ° Taurus / Gemini (N),
Orion (S)		 Feb 24, 2062 June 26, 2062 0−43.7 ′
Oct. 27, 2062 0Jan 2, 2063 8,052 AU −0.45 mag 20.64 ″ -25.3 ° Twins March 10, 2063 July 11, 2063 0- 11.4 ′

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Saturn positions on calsky.com
  2. ↑ Nevertheless, Stellarium indicates a touch for July 8, 2004.
  3. ↑ The mag values ​​for the apparent brightness with two decimal places were determined with Stellarium .
  4. ↑ all dates in UT1
  5. ↑ a b relative to the ecliptic

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