'Extremely rare view': Saturn to come close to earth this weekend

Eva Osborne

The huge ringed planet Saturn will come close to Earth this weekend and will be seen all night high in the South as a bright star.

Astronomy Ireland is setting up giant telescopes to show the planet up close in all its glory.

Editor of the society's magazine, David Moore, said: "This year the rings are almost edge on a sight that only happens on average every 15 years so anyone seeing it in a big telescope will get an extremely rare view.

"Without a doubt Saturn is the most incredible object we ever show the general public in our giant telescopes.

"They transform a bright 'dot' in the sky with the naked eye to a huge globe with cloud belts and rings.

"Plus we can see up to six of its moons which are far too faint to see with the naked eye, but the powerful telescopes can pick them up easily.

"Probably less than one in a million people on Earth have ever seen Saturn, its rings and its moons up close like this. We invite all eight million people on this island to come and join that one-in-a-million club this weekend."

Before the Saturn excitement, the smaller but brighter planet Venus will pass behind the Moon on Friday just after 12 noon.

"You can see this in broad daylight even with just your eyes" Moore said.

"We've all seen the Moon in the daytime sky I'm sure. The trick is to stand in the shadow of a building so the Sun is covered and not shining directly into your eyes.

"Then look about twice your hand-span at arm's length to the right of the Sun. You should then be able to see the Moon with just your eyes.

"On the left edge of the Moon you should be able to see Venus and around 12:40pm to 12:45pm depending on where you are in Ireland Venus will fade over the course of 30 seconds as the edge of the Moon slowly covers it.

"If you have binoculars or a small telescope take a close up look for an incredibly rare sight you may never see again in your lifetime.

"But keep watching because around 2:00pm to 2:05pm Venus will reappear at the right-hand edge of the Moon."