Saturn is currently in an optimal position for sky watchers to see it and will be a bright yellowish star below and to the left of the moon on the evening of Tuesday, May 13.
According to Space.com, Saturn is in opposition, which started Saturday, May 10, meaning it is about as bright as some of the brightest stars in the sky. Saturn will shine similarly to its nearby star Arcturus, which will be more of a flickering kind of bright as opposed to the planet's constant shine.
The Earth is currently passing between Saturn and the Sun, Earth Sky reported, and at this time it is the only planet visible with the naked eye. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun.
Now that the calendar has flipped to May, Saturn starts rising in the night sky instead of early in the morning, like it had been doing in past months. Saturn will be located near the Libra constellation and in between two particularly bright stars this year, Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali. Antares and the Scorpio constellation will lie beneath Saturn with Mars and Spica overhead.
Saturn is nine times wider than Earth, Slate noted, which is possibly why people can see it from our planet. When it is at its closest, Saturn is 830 million miles away. It would be impossible for the planet to come near Earth since its orbit is very large and nearly circular.
An animator who goes by Yeti Dynamics created a mockup video to visualize what it might look like if Saturn did make a close encounter with Earth. The video uses images taken by NASA's Cassini and Voyager spacecrafts.
Cassini has delivered several breathtaking images of Saturn as it orbits the planet with the mysterious rings. CLICK HERE to see some the photos it has taken for NASA.
