Close Approach of the Moon and Saturn

The moon continues its tour of the evening planets and pays a visit to one more bright planet this week. It’s Saturn. Let’s see how and when to see the pair in the sky.

Yellow-tinted Saturn is in the southwestern sky after sunset this week. The ringed planet is much less bright than Jupiter due to its smaller diameter and larger distance from us, but is still a reasonably good option for viewing in backyard telescopes.

On Friday evening, November 29, the young crescent moon will sit a few degrees to the lower left (or celestial south) of Saturn. The pair will be visible to the naked eye and make a fine sight in binoculars and backyard telescopes. You can find both objects in the constellation of Sagittarius. The Moon will shine at magnitude -10.4, and Saturn at magnitude 0.4. Observers in southern New Zealand, Antarctica, and the Sandwich Islands can see the occultation of Saturn by the moon.

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Happy hunting!