The brilliant star in our western evening twilight is Venus. Although not so conspicuous, there is another planet in our evening sky. This is Saturn which looks like a bright yellowish star in the constellation of Aquarius. Saturn will be due north around midnight.
On September 8 th the Earth made its closest approach to Saturn. But, even then it was very distant: 1,290 million kilometres. Saturn is conspicuous at this great distance because it is a giant planet, second only to Jupiter. It has a mass of 95.2 Earths and a diameter 9.54 times that of the Earth. In addition it has 146 moons.
Saturn is composed mostly of hydrogen and helium. However, due to its enormous atmospheric pressure most of this material is liquefied to form a titanic ocean. Its upper atmosphere, which shrouds this ocean, has a pale-yellow hue due to ammonia crystals.
The planet’s most famous feature is its magnificent system of rings. These are composed mostly of ice particles. Due to the axial tilt of Saturn our view of these rings varies as it orbits around the Sun. At present we see them almost edge on.
Saturn takes 29 years to orbit the Sun and, during this period, passes through all 12 signs of the Zodiac. In ancient times Saturn was associated with Chronos, the god of time. To some it was the Grim Reaper.
This is because one revolution of Saturn through the Zodiac equalled the average life expectancy of human beings at that time. Thus, if you were born when Saturn was in Aquarius, you were living on borrowed time if you survived its return to this constellation. Today most New Zealanders can expect Saturn to complete two or three laps of the Zodiac during their lifetime.
Richard Hall
Stonehenge Aotearoa