WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A golden star will rise in the east Thursday night, soaring overhead at midnight and staying up all night, beautiful and eye-catching -- the star is Saturn.
Jan. 13 is a special date for Saturn because it is when the sixth planet is closest to Earth -- only 750 million miles away, compared to a maximum distance of almost 1 billion miles. The proximity will make the ringed planet appear unusually big and bright.
Astronomers called this condition opposition, which means Earth and Saturn have reached points in their orbits where Earth is directly between the ringed planet and the sun.
Although the event is not rare -- it happens about every 13 months -- the 2005 opposition of Saturn is so perfect that an observer on Saturn would see Earth transiting the face of the sun.
To find Saturn, step outside around 7:30 p.m. local time and face east. The planet will be easy to see almost halfway up the sky. Even a small telescope will show the planet's rings and, on a clear night, a little nearby pinprick of light -- Titan, Saturn's largest moon, which will be visited by the European Space Agency's Huygens probe Jan. 14.
