Britons are being urged to look skyward this month as Saturn prepares for a rare celestial display not seen for more than a decade.
The giant ringed planet will remain bright and easy to spot throughout September, reaching peak visibility on September 21 when Earth lines up directly between Saturn and the Sun - in what astronomers refer to as "opposition".
The planet’s renowned rings will appear almost edge-on from Earth due to a “ring crossing” that occurs roughly once every 15 years when Saturn reaches its equinox.
The planet's largest moon, Titan, is expected to drift across the planet’s face along with its shadow and offer a glimpse of a body long suspected of having the conditions to support alien life.
The giant ringed planet will remain bright and easy to spot throughout September and reach peak visibility on September 21
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Professor Chris Lintott from Oxford University urged members of the public to look towards the sky when the event occurs.
He said: “It’s good for the soul, I think, to be reminded that we live on a planet that’s in a solar system that’s in motion, that’s part of a galaxy.
“I think for me by looking up, by paying attention to the moon and the planets, I get this real sense of the cycles of life.”
Dr Ed Bloomer, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said Saturn will be visible to the naked eye for those who head out after dark and look towards the south, where it will shine as a steady white light.
The planet's largest moon, Titan, is expected to drift across the planet’s face along with its shadow
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However, Britons hoping to catch Titan’s rare passage across the planet will need a telescope.
Dr Bloomer said: “It is quite a challenge, you are looking at a small dot moving in front of a bigger dot, but... it is technically possible."
In Britain, Titan’s transit is set to take place in the early hours of September 20, just before dawn.
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Dr Bloomer added: “Planets in particular, they shift relative to the background of stars."
Dr James O’Donoghue, a planetary astronomer at the University of Reading, said he has introduced dozens of people to Saturn through a telescope.
He said: “Sometimes people are 70 years old before they’ve seen it like that.
"And I can’t see [because] it’s dark outside, but I’m sure the hairs are standing up on the back of their necks.
Dr O’Donoghue said that stargazing not only sparks curiosity but also offers people perspective internally
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“Saturn is the jewel of the solar system. I know that everyone has said that but I truly believe it is. And I think it is more than that: I think it’s actually a symbol of science.”
Scientists believe that Titan contains an ocean of liquid water beneath its crust and has surface lakes and seas filled with methane and ethane , which are features that make it one of the strongest candidates in the search for alien life.
Dr O’Donoghue said that stargazing not only sparks curiosity but also offers people perspective internally.
He said: “We all have a lot of struggles all the time. I’d say it’s looking at the bigger picture, but it is the biggest picture, and I think it’s actually pretty good for mental health.”