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Where to Find Saturn in the Evening Sky

To locate the planet Saturn, a stargazer needs to understand a few things about the evening sky. She first must acquaint herself with the ecliptic. After accomplishing this, she must familiarize herself with the Zodiac constellations. Finally, once she knows her Zodiac, she can locate Saturn in the evening sky.
  1. Roadway in the sky

    • To find Saturn in the evening sky you must first find the Zodiac constellations. These are groupings of stars that lie on an imaginary line through the sky called the ecliptic. When you view the planets from Earth, they will always be within a few degrees either way of this path through the sky. All of the Zodiac constellations are close to this line, which goes all the way around the sky. Remember that the word Zodiac in Greek translates roughly into "animal zoo." Most of these constellations represented various creatures to the ancients. Think of the Zodiac as a map to a road that makes its way completely around the sky.

    Learn the Zodiac

    • Look carefully at star maps and learn what the Zodiac constellations look like. Remember that they follow each other in a procession around the ecliptic and become skilled at knowing their sequence in the sky. Ascertain which ones have bright stars and which ones do not. Very few of these constellations look anything like the creature or object they represent, and half of the Zodiac constellations have nothing resembling a bright star within their boundary. Only Taurus the Bull, Leo the Lion, and Scorpius the Scorpion do not require a great imagination to see them as the animals the ancients named them after. Although not an original Zodiac constellation to the ancients, Ophiuchus lies partly along the ecliptic and will sometimes have one of the planets, including Saturn, within its boundary.

    Finding Saturn

    • Once you know which Zodiac constellation Saturn is passing through, you will be able to locate it. Find this information out online or by referring to The Farmer's Almanac. This publication lists which Zodiac constellation each planet will be in and when it will be visible in the evening sky during the course of the year in the United States. Take this information and go outside at night when the constellation with Saturn in it is visible. Try to do this if possible when it is clear and moonless. Locate the Zodiac constellation Saturn is in and then try to identify the planet. A great help will be the fact that half of the Zodiac constellations contain no bright stars. Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Cancer and Libra all lack any remarkable stars. If Saturn is in one of these constellations, it will be much brighter than the surrounding stars and be easily recognizable. If it is in one of the other Zodiac constellations, you will identify it by observing the constellation, referring to your star maps, and picking out the bright object that seems "out of place." Saturn, despite being the dimmest of the visible planets, is still brighter than most of the stars in the sky and appears as a non-twinkling yellowish point of light to the naked eye.


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