If weather conditions allow, Puerto Ricans could appreciate, this Sunday night, a curious astronomical phenomenon, whose last sighting on the island was recorded 23 years ago. It is about the concealment of Saturn for the Moonan event in which the large satellite would be hiding the well-known “king of the rings”according to the Caribbean Astronomy Society (SAC).
“The planets in our solar system orbit the Sun on an imaginary line known as the ecliptic. But, because the orbit of our Moon has a certain inclination, it is not always located in that precise area of the sky, so that only occasionally could it pass through that area looking extremely close to where we see a planet or even hiding it,” he explained. the educational entity in written statements.
Being able to observe this type of event from a specific area of planet Earth does not occur very frequently.. In fact, Eddie Irizarryscientific disseminator of the SAC, specified that This phenomenon was last seen from the archipelago on November 30, 2001 and will not be seen again from the island until 2037.
The scientific organization indicated that Saturn will be seen very close to the area where the satellite is located around 10:00 p.m. “Depending on which specific area of the island the event is observed from, the precise moment in which Saturn will be seen hiding behind the Moon will occur between 10:17 pm and 10:20 pm”added the SAC.
This astronomical event will last just over an hour, so the planet would be reappearing in the lower area of the Moon around 11:30 p.m.
The educational entity clarified that it is really a matter of perspective, since Saturn is almost 856 million miles from Earth, while the Moon is located, this weekend, 226,000 miles away.
If cloud cover does not affect the observation of the event, fans will be able to see it with the naked eye or through binoculars, while, through a telescope, up to five or six of Saturn’s 146 moons or natural satellites could be seen.
The SAC reported that the spectacle can also be seen from the Caribbeanas well as northwest South America, Central America, areas of southern Mexico and from much of the state of Florida. While observers in other areas of the planet will at least see Saturn looking very close to the Moon.
“The SAC will be giving interesting talks under a tent on Paseo La Princesa in Old San Juan, and during the activity there will be telescopes in case the weather conditions allow the event to be appreciated. This will be from 7:00 pm until around 10:20 pm on Sunday and will be free of charge,” concluded the educational entity.