Saturn’s largest moon Titan lies well east of Saturn this morning, while several other, smaller satellites cluster closer to the rings.
Titan is approaching eastern elongation the morning of July 29, when several other moons of Saturn are also visible. Note that although Mimas and Enceladus are shown, they may be too faint to see in some scopes. Credit: Stellarium/Oleg Pluton
- Saturn, a bright 1st-magnitude object, is prominently visible in the southwestern Pisces constellation during the early morning hours.
- Neptune, at magnitude 7.7, lies approximately 1° north of Saturn and is observable with a telescope, appearing as a small bluish-gray disk.
- Saturn’s apparent disk size is 18”, with rings spanning 42”, significantly larger and brighter than Neptune. Its moon Titan reaches its greatest eastern elongation around 7:30 A.M. EDT.
- Several fainter Saturnian moons, including Tethys, Rhea, and Dione (around magnitude 10), are also visible near Saturn around 5 A.M. EDT.
Saturn still stands out in the early-morning sky as a bright, 1st-magnitude point of light in southwestern Pisces. Two hours before sunrise, the ringed planet is roughly 50° high in the south and offers an easy stepping-stone to Neptune, which lies 1° north of Saturn — close enough to catch both worlds in a single field of view through your telescope. Neptune is invisible to the *** eye but will appear under magnification, shining at magnitude 7.7 and showing off a tiny, bluish-gray, 2”-wide disk.
Saturn is far more impressive, not only much brighter but also appearing much larger, with a disk 18” across and rings that stretch 42” from end to end. Its brightest moon, mid-8th-magnitude Titan, lies some 2.8’ east of the planet. Titan will reach its greatest eastern elongation tomorrow morning just after 7:30 A.M. EDT, when it will stand a bit more than 3’ due east of Saturn.
This morning several other fainter moons are visible as well, clustered much closer to the planet. Tenth-magnitude Tethys, Rhea, and Dione are all visible around 5 A.M. EDT; Rhea is about 1.3’ east of Saturn, while Tethys is just 30” west of the planet and Dione another 30” west of Tethys.
Sunrise: 5:56 A.M.
Sunset: 8:16 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:59 A.M.
Moonset: 10:44 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (24%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column.
