Saturn In Opposition, Most Planets Put on a Show Above Oregon, Washington, Coastlines

Published 9/05/24 at 7:15 p.m.
By Andre' GW Hagestedt, Oregon Coast Beach Connection

(Oregon Coast) – Right now and through October is an excellent time to view Saturn, and even better will be September 8 as it reaches opposition. Then later next year it does something really special: the rings will seem to disappear. (Photo: OMSI)

Jim Todd, astronomy expert with Portland's OMSI, said it's known as Saturn's opposition, which means on September 8 the earth comes between the sun and our ringed neighbor, forming a kind of straight line. It's the closest Saturn gets to us all year – and it will be at its brightest.

“Saturn is rising in the east at sunset and visible all night,” Todd said. “This happens because when Saturn lies opposite the Sun in the sky, the solar system is lined up so that Saturn, the earth, and the sun form a straight line with the earth in the middle, on the same side of the sun as Saturn. At a distance of 804 million miles or 8.65 AU, the ringed planet will be making its closest approach to earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the sun. At a magnitude of +0.57, Saturn will be brighter than any other time of the year.”

For the next two months it'll be prominent in the sky, along with other major planets you're able to see right now. In fact, Mercury recently popped into our skies.

Above: the beachy sky above Bandon - courtesy Manuela Durson - Manuela Durson Fine Arts

For those observing from beaches of the Oregon coast or Washington coast – or even better, the high vantage points – stargazing will be great on clear nights.

According to EarthSky.org, Mars, Mercury, Saturn and the extremely bright Jupiter are in the skies. Uranus and Neptune are also there, but you'd need a good telescope. Jupiter has been making quite a show all summer in the east. It's been dramatic from places like Portland, Seattle, Cannon Beach, Port Orford, Bandon or Westport.

“For stargazers and astrophotographers, it's an ideal time to view and photograph the superior planets,” Todd said.

Stars above Cannon Beach area's Hug Point, North Coast

For the rest of 2024, Saturn will remain visible in the evening sky, Todd said.

Then early next year things get really interesting – however we won't really get to see it. This opposition of Saturn heralds a new look for it, at least temporarily. Saturn's rings will eventually appear edge-on in March 2025.

NASA

You'll need a telescope, of course, to see this. But doing that from the Washington coast or Oregon coast is usually impractical because of wind, and the solar system is going to throw another bummer at you.

Rockaway Beach

“Saturn’s narrow rings are tilted by 3.3 degrees, nearly edge-on viewed from earth,” Todd said. “In March 2025, when earth crosses the plane of Saturn’s rings, they will temporarily seem to disappear. Unfortunately, Saturn will be too close to the sun and not be visible from earth. Will need to wait until May 2025 to observe Saturn again in our night sky.”

Need to do more night sky fun on the coastlines or elsewhere in Oregon or Washington? For one, in the Portland area, you can learn more about Saturn and the current night sky in OMSI Planetarium’s show, Starry Night Live!. For a schedule, go to OMSI.edu.

Most areas of the coastlines are extremely dark, but fog and mist is often a factor. However, head to high vantage points like Cape Foulweather near Depoe Bay, Arch Rock Viewpoint near Brookings or the pullout just south of Yachats and you often get quite an interstellar show.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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