Saturn on Opposition Day
Planet Saturn on “opposition day”, October 4, 2026. The dark blotch within the rings on the right-hand side of this image was caused by a meteoroid impact. Image credit: James GuilfordSaturn early on “opposition day” was a bright yellowish “star” to the unaided eye as we viewed it close to midnight, Eastern Daylight Time. To the telescope, however, it shown in all its glory, bright and bearing rings! Recently discussed in astronomy circles was the dark blotch and distorted Cassini Division line (left-hand side here) within the ring system, and we were happy to be able to capture that detail. The ring was apparently struck by a meteoroid that caused a cascading effect resulting in a large-scale disruption, broadly categorized as a spoke. Distance from Earth to Saturn at the time this image was recorded was about 1.3 billion kilometers, taking light about 70 minutes to reach us here. Opposition is the point in our orbits when a line from Sun to Saturn would go straight through Earth, and when the two worlds are about as near each other as they can get.
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