7 ms·
> How does one locate Saturn in the night sky without an electronic aid? Seriously? You mean that _really_ bright star that is out of place on your constellat
by GJim 14d ago
> How does one locate Saturn in the night sky without an electronic aid?
Seriously?
You mean that _really_ bright star that is out of place on your constellation map / planisphere?
It's a planet.
Look at it and see which one it is. (BTW: Look at it a few nights later as it moves to work out its trajectory. Congratulations, you can now identify which planet it is anytime, no telescope needed.)
- firmretention 14d agoSERIOUSLY?! You'd be surprised how few people know you can easily spot planets with the naked eye, in addition to many other little interesting things in life. You react as if he didn't know how to his shoes.
- voidUpdate 14d agoI'm sorry if I'm not familiar with your area of expertise, that's why I'm asking the question, because I want to understand. There are lots of stars that are brighter than Saturn, even at its brightest. I don't know if I'd know if a bright point of light is Sirius or Vega or Saturn or what (I could probably at least tell if it's Polaris). I was just trying to find out how you go from a night sky to pointing at Saturn, or Mars, or Jupiter, unless you have a map showing you where it would be on a given night. Also, don't planets sometimes seem to move in non-intuitive paths, like Mars performing retrograde motion when viewed from Earth? If you were viewing the plants constantly, then sure, you could pick it out, but if you left a gap between observations, wouldn't it be a lot harder?