Saturn Shines at Its Best Tonight: Watch It Live Online

Saturn Cassini Division Frosty Drew
This image of Saturn was taken from Frosty Drew Observatory in Charlestown, Rhode Island by amateur astronomer Scott MacNeill. (Image credit: Scott MacNeill | www.frostydrew.org )

Saturn, the ringed beauty of the solar system, will put on its best show of the year for stargazers tonight (May 10), and you can catch live telescope views of the planet online.

The online Slooh community telescope will offer live views of Saturn from a remotely operated telescope in the Canary Islands, off the western coast of Africa, as the ringed planet reaches opposition, a point in its orbit when it is on the opposite side of Earth from the sun.

Slooh's feed of Saturn will begin at 9:30 p.m. EDT (0130 May 11 GMT) and feature commentary from astronomer Bob Berman and Slooh host Geoff Fox. You can also watch the Saturn webcast live on Space.com in addition to the Slooh website. Viewers will be able to ask questions about Saturn at opposition using the Twitter hashtag #Slooh.

Saturday, May 10, 2 p.m. EDT. Saturn will be at opposition, exactly opposite the sun in the sky. (Image credit: Starry Night Software)

"Saturn has not looked this good since 2007," Berman said in a statement. "That's because its rings assumed their edge-on orientation for several years, making telescope observation of ring detail impossible. Now they are splayed at such a gratifying tilt, they visually form a nearly unbroken structure completely around the body of the planet."

Weather permitting, stargazers can spot Saturn without a telescope by looking in the constellation Libra. The planet is the only bright object in the constellation and can be spotted as it rises in the southeastern sky soon after nightfall.

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Berman said he hopes the Slooh telescope will reveal stunning details of Saturn's rings.

"We expect to easily see its famous inky-black Cassini division, situated between the A and B ring, where the ice-chunks that make up its rings have been swept clean by tidal meddling from its moon Mimas," he said. "Nearly everyone regards Saturn as the most beautiful planet in the known universe."

Editor's Note: If you take an amazing photo of Saturn, or any other night sky view, that you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.