Saturn to come closest to Earth today; here's everything you need to know about it
In 1 year and 13 days, they both come closest to each other. Previously, they came close on July 20, 2020, and will again do so on August 14, 2022.
FollowSaturn and earth will be closest to each other on August 2 at 11.30 am, informed Dr Suvendu Pattnaik, Deputy Director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium. He said people across the globe who will be in their nighttime would see a bright Saturn. Dr Pattnaik further noted that as per Indian Standard Time at 11.30, Saturn and Earth will be closest to each other. Earth takes 365 days to orbit around the Sun, while Saturn takes 29.5 years for completing one full revolution around the Sun. In 1 year and 13 days, they both come closest to each other. Previously, they came close on July 20, 2020, and will again do so on August 14, 2022.
Explaining the distance between the two planets, when they are close to each other, the average length will be around 120 crore kilometres, which is 50 crore kilometres less than the maximum distance between them. Saturn can be seen with the naked eye and would be seen throughout the night for the whole month of August.Â
Similarly, last year on December 21, people had the opportunity to watch a rare celestial event as Jupiter and the Saturn appeared to merge and looked like a single bright star, which is called a conjunction. The phenomenon took place after about 400 years and was visible in different parts of West Bengal. Since 1623, the two planets have never been so close and they will again appear to come as close as this from the Earth on March 15, 2080.
What are you waiting for? Take out your telescopes, or keep your eyes peeled at the sky to see this!
