Saturn, the ringed gas giant three planets over from Earth, will be especially visible this weekend when it goes into opposition with the sun.
During opposition, Saturn and the sun are lined up on opposite sides of the Earth, meaning that the ringed planet will rise in the east when the sun sets in the west, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Saturn should be most visible after midnight this weekend, shining around 20 degrees above the southeastern horizon around 10 p.m. and then rising into the southern sky. Before it sets around dawn, the planet will be a spectacular sight especially through a telescope, burning brighter than the nearby stars in the constellation Libra.
Composed of hydrogen and helium, Saturn is a gas giant with no solid surface, according to NASA. The unique planet is known for having the biggest ring system in our solar system, seven rings total with spaces in between them. The sixth planet from the sun, Saturn has 53 known moons and may have nine more.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which has been exploring Saturn since 2004, came close to the planet's Titan moon last month and captured images of its smoggy surface, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Scientists recently discovered through the Cassini images that Titan's "seas" of liquid methane and ethane have waves similar to those in Earth's oceans.
Another of Saturn's moons was the subject of a study published in April that showed evidence of an ocean below the moon's ice and rock.
While the moon's surface temperature is -180 degrees Celsius, or -292 degrees Fahrenheit, tidal forces could be creating enough heat to flex and melt the ice, making an ocean of liquid water below the surface, National Geographic reported.
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