Saturn positions
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
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 | −48.1 ′ |
Oct 26, 2003 | Dec 31, 2003 | 8,050 AU | −0.46 mag | 20.64 ″ | −25.5 ° | Twins | March 7, 2004 | July 8, 2004 | - 16.0 ′ |
Nov 8, 2004 | Jan. 14, 2005 | 8.076 AU | −0.38 mag | 20.58 ″ | −22.8 ° | Gemini / Cancer | March 22, 2005 | July 23, 2005 | +17.0 ′ |
Nov 22, 2005 | Jan. 27, 2006 | 8.127 AU | −0.24 mag | 20.45 ″ | −18.9 ° | cancer | April 5, 2006 | Aug 8, 2006 | +48.5 ′ |
Dec 6, 2006 | Feb 10, 2007 | 8,200 AU | −0.04 mag | 20.27 ″ | −13.9 ° | Cancer / Leo | April 19, 2007 | Aug 21, 2007 | +76.8 ′ |
Dec 19, 2007 | Feb. 24, 2008 | 8.291 AU | +0.21 mag | 20.04 ″ | −8.4 ° | lion | May 3, 2008 | 4th Sep 2008 | +100.2 ′ |
Dec 31, 2008 | March 8, 2009 | 8,394 AU | +0.50 mag | 19.80 ″ | - 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 ″ | + 3.2 ° | Virgin | May 30, 2010 | Oct 1, 2010 | +129.6 ′ |
Jan. 26, 2011 | April 4, 2011 | 8.614 AU | +0.36 mag | 19.29 ″ | + 8.7 ° | Virgin | June 13, 2011 | Oct 13, 2011 | +135.0 ′ |
Feb 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 | July 8, 2013 | Nov 6, 2013 | +127.2 ′ |
March 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 | Aug 2, 2015 | Nov 30, 2015 | +98.4 ′ |
March 25, 2016 | 3rd June 2016 | 9.015 AU | +0.01 mag | 18.44 ″ | + 26.0 ° |
Snake Bearer (N) / Scorpio (S) |
13 Aug 2016 | Dec 10, 2016 | +78.0 ′ |
April 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 | +54.4 ′ |
April 18, 2018 | June 27, 2018 | 9.049 AU | +0.02 mag | 18.37 ″ | + 26.0 ° | Sagittarius | 6 Sep 2018 | Jan. 2, 2019 | +28.9 ′ |
April 30, 2019 | July 9, 2019 | 9.033 AU | +0.05 mag | 18.40 ″ | + 24.3 ° | Sagittarius | Sep 18 2019 | Jan. 13, 2020 | + 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 | −24.8 ′ |
May 23, 2021 | Aug 2, 2021 | 8.935 AU | +0.18 mag | 18.60 ″ | + 18.1 ° | Capricorn | 11.Oct. 2021 | Feb 4, 2022 | −51.1 ′ |
June 4, 2022 | Aug 14, 2022 | 8,857 AU | +0.28 mag | 18.76 ″ | + 13.8 ° | Capricorn | Oct 23, 2022 | Feb 16, 2023 | −75.6 ′ |
June 17, 2023 | 27 Aug 2023 | 8.763 AU | +0.41 mag | 18.97 ″ | + 8.9 ° | Aquarius | Nov 4, 2023 | Feb 28, 2024 | −97.2 ′ |
June 29, 2024 | 8 Sep 2024 | 8,658 AU | +0.57 mag | 19.20 ″ | + 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 ″ | - 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 ″ | −7.7 ° | Fish (N) / Whale (S) |
Dec 11, 2026 | April 7, 2027 | −133.8 ′ |
9 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 ) |
Jan 5, 2029 | May 4, 2029 | −126.0 ′ |
6 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 | Feb 2, 2031 | June 3, 2031 | −88.8 ′ |
5.Oct. 2031 | Dec 11, 2031 | 8.043 AU | −0.48 mag | 20.66 ″ | −26.6 ° | bull | Feb 16, 2032 | June 17, 2032 | −61.8 ′ |
Oct 19, 2032 | Dec 24, 2032 | 8.032 AU | -0.48 mag | 20.69 ″ | -26.3 ° | Twins | March 1, 2033 | July 2, 2033 | −30.6 ′ |
Nov 2, 2033 | Jan 8, 2034 | 8.048 AU | −0.43 mag | 20.65 ″ | −24.3 ° | Twins | March 16, 2034 | July 17, 2034 | + 2.4 ′ |
Nov 16, 2034 | Jan. 22, 2035 | 8.092 AU | -0.32 mag | 20.54 ″ | -20.8 ° | cancer | March 30, 2035 | Aug 1, 2035 | +34.7 ′ |
Nov 30, 2035 | Feb 5, 2036 | 8.159 AU | −0.15 mag | 20.37 ″ | -16.3 ° | cancer | April 13, 2036 | Aug 15, 2036 | +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 | +90.6 ′ |
Dec 26, 2037 | 3rd Mar 2038 | 8,350 AU | +0.35 mag | 19.90 ″ | −5.2 ° | lion | May 11, 2038 | Sep 12 2038 | +111.0 ′ |
Jan 8, 2039 | March 16, 2039 | 8,461 AU | +0.63 mag | 19.64 ″ | + 0.6 ° | Virgin | May 25, 2039 | 25 Sep 2039 | +125.4 ′ |
Jan. 21, 2040 | 28 Mar 2040 | 8,573 AU | +0.44 mag | 19.39 ″ | + 6.2 ° | Virgin | June 6, 2040 | Oct 7, 2040 | +133.2 ′ |
Feb 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 | July 3, 2042 | Nov 1, 2042 | +130.8 ′ |
Feb 26, 2043 | 5th of May. 2043 | 8.866 AU | +0.10 mag | 18.75 ″ | + 20.2 ° | Libra | July 15, 2043 | Nov 13, 2043 | +120.6 ′ |
March 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) |
Aug 8, 2045 | 6 Dec 2045 | +87.0 ′ |
April 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 | +64.8 ′ |
April 13, 2047 | June 22, 2047 | 9,030 AU | +0.00 mag | 18.40 ″ | + 26.4 ° | Sagittarius | Sep 1 2047 | Dec 28, 2047 | +39.9 ′ |
April 24, 2048 | July 4, 2048 | 9,020 AU | +0.02 mag | 18.43 ″ | + 25.2 ° | Sagittarius | Sep 12 2048 | Jan 8, 2049 | + 13.5 ′ |
May 6, 2049 | July 16, 2049 | 8,989 AU | +0.06 mag | 18.49 ″ | + 23.0 ° | Sagittarius | Sep 24 2049 | Jan. 19, 2050 | - 13.5 ′ |
May 18, 2050 | July 28, 2050 | 8,939 AU | +0.13 mag | 18.59 ″ | + 19.8 ° | Capricorn | Oct 6, 2050 | Jan 31, 2051 | −40.2 ′ |
May 31, 2051 | Aug 9, 2051 | 8.870 AU | +0.22 mag | 18.74 ″ | + 15.8 ° | Capricorn | Oct 18, 2051 | Feb 12, 2052 | −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 | −88.8 ′ |
June 24, 2053 | 3rd Sep 2053 | 8,690 AU | +0.48 mag | 19.12 ″ | + 6.1 ° | Aquarius | Nov 10, 2053 | March 7, 2054 | −108.0 ′ |
July 7, 2054 | 16 Sep 2054 | 8.586 AU | +0.67 mag | 19.36 ″ | + 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) |
6 Dec 2055 | April 1, 2056 | −132.0 ′ |
Aug 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 | −129.6 ′ |
31 Aug 2058 | Nov 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 | +98.4 ′ |
28 Sep 2060 | Dec 5, 2060 | 8,074 AU | −0.45 mag | 20.58 ″ | −26.1 ° | bull | Feb 9, 2061 | June 11, 2061 | −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 | −43.7 ′ |
Oct. 27, 2062 | Jan 2, 2063 | 8,052 AU | −0.45 mag | 20.64 ″ | -25.3 ° | Twins | March 10, 2063 | July 11, 2063 | - 11.4 ′ |
Remarks
- ↑ a b Saturn positions on calsky.com
- ↑ Nevertheless, Stellarium indicates a touch for July 8, 2004.
- ↑ The mag values for the apparent brightness with two decimal places were determined with Stellarium .
- ↑ all dates in UT1
- ↑ a b relative to the ecliptic
literature
- Multiyear Interactive Computer Almanac 1800-2050. US Naval Observatory