The Sky Today on Sunday, July 12: Titan sits near Saturn
The ringed planet’s largest — and brightest — moon lingers near its parent world early this morning, easy to view in any scope.
Bright Titan is now close to Saturn, passing south of the planet early on July 12. In this image, north is up and east is left. It shows the positions of the planet’s moons at 3:30 A.M. Central time, but note they may be in slightly different positions at other times. Although there are fainter moons close to Saturn as well, those dimmer than 10th magnitude are not shown. Credit: Stellarium/Oleg Pluton
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July 11: Dione passes north of Saturn
Let’s look to Saturn this morning to catch Titan, its largest and brightest moon, now close to the planet as it passes south of its parent world. Shining at mid-8th magnitude, Titan is easy to spot in any telescope. Check it out this morning just southwest of Saturn in the few hours before sunrise.
Around 3:30 A.M. local daylight time, Saturn will be some 35° high in the east. Taurus the Bull will have just risen and lies low along the horizon — Saturn is to this constellation’s upper right, the brightest point of light in an otherwise relatively unremarkable region of sky. Through a telescope, Saturn’s rings are of course the standout feature, now stretching 40” across and surrounding the planet’s 18”-wide disk. Along with Titan, several other fainter, 10th-magnitude moons cluster closer to the planet, including Dione, which is now west of the planet, roughly in line with the rings. Tethys and Rhea, also 10th magnitude, lie to Saturn’s east. Other fainter moons are also close to the gas giant, but they will be difficult to pick up in most scopes (and are not shown on the chart above).
Sunrise: 5:42 A.M.
Sunset: 8:29 P.M.
Moonrise: 3:13 A.M.
Moonset: 7:26 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waning crescent (3%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
Alison Klesman is senior editor of Astronomy magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy and has studied a variety of topics, from minor planets to supermassive black holes.
