Of all the worlds of our solar system, which is your favorite?



It's not surprising that many people choose Saturn because of its uniquely beautiful rings. So, for all you Saturn lovers, this month's for you!



Saturn officially reaches its "opposition" on March 8, and this week it appears in our sky opposite the sun, rising in the east at sunset and lying at its closest to Earth. You should have little trouble finding it because it is the brightest object in the eastern sky after dark, just below the back end of Leo, the lion.



Through a small backyard telescope, this remarkably three-dimensional ringed world normally appears suspended against the blackness of space. But if you've never experienced this magnificent sight, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a bit.



 

At their widest, Saturn's rings girdle the planet's equator at a 26.7 degree angle to Earth. They appear "open" when Saturn is in the parts of its orbit that correspond to its summer or winter - that is, when its poles are tilted toward the sun and Earth. This will happen again in 2016.



As Saturn approaches its spring and fall positions, however, the rings "close down" and become more difficult to see from Earth. And, when turned completely edge-on to us, they nearly vanish, leaving only a tiny, faint and nearly featureless yellow disk. Looking at these thin rings from the side removes their glare and gives astronomers a great opportunity to see the icy moons near the planet.



Right now is one of those times. The rings are inclined only about 2.6 degrees toward us and appear as a razor-thin line crossing the planet's disk. They will open a bit by late springtime, but by early September they will disappear from view.



If you don't have your own telescope, call your local planetarium, science museum or amateur astronomy club to see when their next "star party" will be, so you won't miss this remarkable apparition of Saturn.



If you miss it all this month, keep in mind that during the next two ring-plane crossings - on Sept. 4, 2009 and March 23, 2025 - Saturn will lie only a few degrees from the glare of the sun.



The next good edge-on view of Saturn will not come until the triple-crossing of 2038-39, so this week marks a rare and beautiful event.