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Fig (1)
Saturn at Opposition
On Saturday, 10 February 2007, Saturn will be at opposition, i.e., located
opposite the Sun in the sky. Earth and Saturn will be on one side of the Sun.
This is the best time to observe Saturn this year.
Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, will be closest to Earth, at
approximately 1,200 million km away. It will rise around sunset, culminate
around midnight, and set around sunrise. For telescope observers, Saturn's disc
will be the biggest this year. Also, Saturn's rings will brighten temporarily,
due to opposition.
Fig (2)
Planets over the Nile
http://www.astronomie.de/fachbereiche/astrofotografie/2005/27/planeten-nil.htm
Saturn, Venus and Mercury over the Nile in Luxor, Egypt
Photo by Aymen Ibrahem, Senior Astronomy Specialist
Saturn is now in the zodiacal constellation Leo, the Lion. In Alexandria, it will rise in the northeastern sky, at about 17:45 EET. Shining at stellar
magnitude 0.0, Saturn is currently one of the brightest objects in the evening
sky.
You can locate Saturn on an interactive sky map on the following website.
http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Yoursky
Further reading
Planets over the Nile
http://www.bibalex.org/Eclipse2006/News_Details.aspx?id=53
Karnak
under Nighttime Sky
http://www.bibalex.org/Eclipse2006/News_Details.aspx?id=60
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior astronomy Specialist