Ephemeris: 10/13/2026 – A closer look at Saturn
This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, October 13th. Today the Sun will be up for 11 hours and 5 minutes, setting at 7:01, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:57. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 8:06 this evening.
The bright star low in the southeastern sky these evenings is the planet Saturn. It is the second largest planet after Jupiter. And is almost as big, being about 72,000 miles (116,000 kilometers) in diameter. It has those fabulous rings, once thought unique, but are still the grandest. It is also the least dense planet. Density is measured in grams per cubic centimeter. Water is 1 gram per cubic centimeter. Saturn’s density is 0.69 or 69% that of water. So if you could find a lake great enough to hold it, and it was solid, it would float. Saturn averages 890 million miles (1.432 billion kilometers) from the sun and the earth. It is currently 787 million miles (1.267 billion kilometers) from earth, being only 9 days after its opposition from the sun, and its closest to us.
The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.
Addendum
