Re: Finding Saturn

szeik@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
We got our son a telescope for Christmas and I've been trying to find
Saturn since I have fond memories of looking at that planet through my
own boyhood telescope.

So far I have not been able to locate it. Not sure if it is visible
at the moment.

Should be. It rises in early evening and is highest in the sky about
midnight. However, it should still be easily visible well before then.

These days, it is in the constellation of Leo the Lion, where it appears
as the brightest "star," in front of Regulus, the brightest genuine star
in the constellation. You'll need a magnification of at least 50x or so
in order to see the rings distinctly; it'll be easier with 100x.

Make sure that your finder is properly aligned with the main telescope
by sighting a daytime object.

--
Brian Tung <brian@xxxxxxx>
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html
.

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