Sky Watchers To Get Best View Of Saturn In 10 Years
CHICAGO (CBS) -- These warm, clear evenings we've been having are a good time to look for the rings of Saturn, reports WBBM's Steve Miller.
Every ten years the planet Saturn gives us a really good view of its rings, and this is the year.
"Saturn gets brighter when the rings are tilted as much as they are," said Larry Ciupik.
Ciupik is the senior astronomer at the Adler Planetarium.
Sky Watchers To Get Best View Of Saturn In 10 Years
"Because the rings are mostly ice, that ice reflects back a lot of light to us and so Saturn literally looks brighter and it looks more like the typical Saturn that you envision in your mind's eye."
Ciupik says even a small 20-power telescope is OK.
"I would encourage anyone, even with a backyard small telescope to take a look at Saturn over the next couple of weeks because it's a beautiful sight."
Ciupik says the best time to look tonight, for example, is about an hour after sunset in the South Southwest about a third of the way up to the overhead point from the horizon to the right of the moon.
For more information about programs and events at the Adler Planetarium, click here.
