Saturn will be visible tonight .....yep didn't make a joke about Uranus

[underpants]

Saturn will be so close to Earth this month that its rings will be visible through a normal telescope. On Tuesday, the ringed planet will shine at its maximum brightness and come less than a million miles from Earth. That means planet gazers can see Saturn's rings in any telescope that magnifies to at least 20 power, or sharper, Space.com reports.

On Tuesday, Saturn will lie on the opposite side of the sky as the sun, and its brightness will rival some of the shiniest stars in the galaxy. In fact, Saturn would rank as the seventh-brightest star if it was compared to the 21 brightest stars, according to Space.com.

Saturn will rise in the east-southeast and set in the west-northwest, and at around 1 a.m. local daylight time, it will be visible in the southern region of the sky. If you don't have a telescope, you could still see Saturn with the naked eye – it will look like a bright yellow-white star, according to Space.com. Just look toward the star pattern known as the "Teapot" in the Sagittarius constellation.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/saturn-will-get-so-close-to-the-earth-on-tuesday-2019-07-09-night-its-rings-will-be-visible-through-a-telescope/

[rsdsharp]

1. "and come less than a million miles from Earth."

Bullshit. That would put it inside the orbits of Jupiter, the asteroid belt AND Mars, and place it only about four times farther from Earth than the moon.

[qazplm135]

2. Wouldn't that be something

Well, actually it would probably seriously perturb out orbit wiping out all life so, no, never mind.

[Blecht]

6. The Space.com article has the distance

It's 839 million miles, so the doofus at CBS substituted an "m" for a "b" in the story.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. I saw it last night, it and Jupiter.

The sky was clear last night, after all the rain we had earlier in the day. You don't need binoculars to see either one, but with my binoculars I could see one or two of Jupiter's bigger moons. You will need a telescope to make out Saturn's rings.

I've linked to this before, but that's no reason not to link to it again:

Culture

If Earth had rings like Saturn, the sky would look like this

Space and science fiction illustrator Ron Miller has created magnificent images of how Earth's skies would appear if our planet had giant rings.

By Tim Hornyak | May 22, 2013 6:00 AM PDT



If Earth had rings, Congress would have even more glory to bask in, according to this Ron Miller illustration. Ron Miller

The sunsets would be impossibly beautiful. The evening sky would glitter with a thousand silver arcs. If Earth had rings like Saturn, you'd only have to look up to get a spectacular show.

Veteran astronomy artist Ron Miller has created some stunning views of what our skies would look like if Earth were a ringed planet, and they make me want to launch a Kickstarter campaign to make it happen.
....

Earth: if you like it, put a ring on it (pictures) 6 photos

The mean photos of the illustrations, not photos of Earth's rings. I think.

[SWBTATTReg]

4. Your uranus/analysis about Saturn is a good one...yuh yuh ha! (I couldn't resist!)...

[Celerity]

5. one night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury

might explain Rump

[lapucelle]

7. Advice from Deborah Byrd for seeing Saturn's rings.

Viewing Saturn’s rings soon? Read me 1st

It’s that magical time of year again, when our solar system’s most beautiful planet – Saturn – is well placed for viewing in our sky. Looking starlike to the eye alone, with a distinct golden color, Saturn is a lovely object even without optical aid.

Binoculars will enhance its color, and a small telescope will let you see Saturn’s rings. That makes the coming month or so a great time to go to a star party, where amateur astronomers are set up to show you telescopic objects.

Check the club map at NASA’s Night Sky Network to find star parties near you. Or try this list of astronomy clubs by state from the Astronomical League. Or call a local university or science museum and ask about star parties. Or maybe a neighbor, or friend, has a telescope stashed in a closet?

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/viewing-saturns-rings-tips-for-beginners


Here, she and a colleague explain what makes tonight especially great viewing:

We go between Saturn and the sun July 9

Our planet Earth flies this week between Saturn and the sun, bringing Saturn to what astronomers call opposition. Opposition is a big milestone each year for observing the ringed planet Saturn, or any superior planet (planet orbiting the sun outside Earth’s orbit). When we fly between a superior planet and the sun, the planet is generally closest to Earth and brightest for that year. Saturn’s opposition comes on July 9, 2019, at 17:00 UTC.

snip========================================

And don’t worry about exact times too much. Just know that – around now – Saturn is more or less opposite the sun in Earth’s sky, rising in the east around sunset, climbing highest up for the night around midnight and setting in the west around sunrise. When opposite the sun, Saturn is visible all night and at its best!

https://earthsky.org/tonight/saturn-closest-and-brightest

[tymorial]

8. I remember the first time I saw the rings through a telescope

I was so excited. I could see the bands of Jupiter and the moons. I was really into my telescope for a while but then I had to move. Where I live now the light pollution is so awful it's like a completely different night sky. It's funny though I'm really geographically not that far from where I used to live.