See Saturn at its Best and Brightest   
       
   April 25, 2013: The Solar System is a beautiful place filled with wonders that   
   NASA space probes are only beginning to discover.  There's a tendency, though,   
   for people to become indifferent; every year Hubble, Cassini, MESSENGER and   
   other spacecraft beam back gigabytes of jaw-dropping images. After a while,   
   you don't have any more "gasps" left in you.   
       
   Well, maybe just one more.  Inhale deeply, because at the end of April, Saturn   
   will put on a breathtaking display.   
       
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvTSB5B0d0w   
       
   A new ScienceCast video (in English) explores this month's close encounter   
   with Saturn. Play it!No space probe is required to see it. Just set up a   
   telescope in your back yard--even a small department store `scope will do--and   
   point the optics toward the constellation Virgo. Saturn is there, not far from   
   the bright star Spica.   
       
   On April 28th, Saturn makes its closest approach to Earth, appearing bigger   
   and brighter than at any other time in 2013.  Astronomers call this event "an   
   opposition," because Saturn will be opposite the sun in the skies of Earth.   
   The golden planet rises at sunset, soars almost overhead at midnight, and   
   stays up all night long.   
       
   Observers who see Saturn for the first time through the eyepiece of a   
   telescope often gasp.  The view is Hubble-esque, but the experience is much   
   more personal.  You're seeing Saturn with your own eyes, a celestial wonder   
   right out of the pages of an Astronomy magazine.  The sight of that cloudy   
   sphere suspended in the middle of crisp, thin icy rings is almost unreal.   
       
   To the naked eye, Saturn at opposition is about twice as bright as a   
   first-magnitude star.  This makes it relatively easy to find.  Novices should   
   start looking on April 25-26, when the full Moon passes Saturn only a few   
   degrees away.  For that one night, the Moon will act as a beacon, guiding   
   observers straight to the ringed planet.  Once you know where Saturn is, you   
   can find it again on subsequent nights.   
       
   Look again on April 28th.  That's when Saturn will be closest to Earth--about   
   1.3 billion km away.  If clouds intervene, don't worry; there are many more   
   opportunities to look.  Saturn will remain a golden jewel in the midnight sky   
   for weeks to come.   
       
   Meanwhile, NASA's Cassini spacecraft is circling Saturn, exploring the planet   
   and its environment at point-blank range.  Since it reached the Saturn system   
   in 2004, Cassini has found a moon with "tiger stripes" spewing geysers of   
   salty water; an electrical storm big enough to swallow Earth; methane lakes   
   and rain on Titan; braids, spokes and other strange ripples in Saturn's rings;   
   a hexagonal cloud system surrounding Saturn's north pole; a satellite that   
   looks like a sponge, and much more.   
       
   Saturn is near.  Save the indifference for another planet!   
       
   Credits:   
       
   Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit:   
   Science@NASA   
       
   More information:   
       
   Cassini  -- mission home page   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.92   
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)