Six weeks with Saturn

By the end of six weeks you will be able to find Saturn and five constellations without help, will have seen the rings through a telescope, and will have a log of your own nights. If you already observe, the same six weeks give you a run of planetary observations steady enough to compare, the habit that let Trevor Barry notice something new.

Why this works

Trevor Barry did not find a new shape on Saturn on one lucky night. He watched the same planet for years, from the same place, and kept the results. NASA’s Amy Simon told ABC News that what makes his work valuable is that he tracks things over time.

This plan borrows that habit: one target, regular nights, a written log. Saturn was at opposition on 4 October, so it is up for most of the night this autumn.

Before you start

Kit for week 1: your eyes, a red torch, warm clothes and a free sky app with its red filter on, or a planisphere (a rotating star chart).
A telescope: not needed to begin. Weeks 3 and 4 send you to an observatory or astronomy society, where you can look through theirs. BBC Sky at Night Magazine suggests a 75mm (3-inch) refractor or larger for the rings.
Your spot: a clear view south and as little street light as possible. A back garden is fine.
Dark adaptation: allow 15 to 20 minutes before you judge what you can see, as the British Astronomical Association advises. One glance at a white screen and you start again.
Safety: if you go somewhere remote, tell someone where you are going and when you will be back. Take a hot drink.

The plan

Saturn rises in the east at dusk and is due south around midnight this month, earlier as the weeks go on.

Week	Do this	How often	Notes
1 (new to it)	Sit out for 30 minutes, phone away for the first 15. Find Saturn with the app, then without it.	2 clear nights	It does not twinkle.
1 (already observing)	Observe Saturn for 30 minutes. Score the steadiness of the air from 1 (boiling) to 5 (still).	3 clear nights	Start your log tonight.
2 (new to it)	Learn the Great Square of Pegasus, then use it to find Saturn, which sits south and east of it.	2 nights	Your first star-hop.
2 (already observing)	Hunt for the Cassini Division in the rings; note which nights you can hold it steadily.	3 nights	Seeing matters more than size.
3 (new to it)	Go to a public observing evening. Ask to see Saturn and the Moon.	Once	See the box on the story page.
3 (already observing)	Find Titan and as many fainter moons as you can. Sketch their positions.	3 nights	Positions change night to night.
4 (new to it)	Learn three more constellations visible from your spot.	2 nights	Test yourself without the app.
4 (already observing)	Sketch or image Saturn’s bands and rings at the same hour each night.	3 nights	Same time, same set-up.
5 (new to it)	A long session: 90 minutes, on a night near the new moon. Count meteors and satellites.	Once	Lie back on a reclining chair.
5 (already observing)	Compare your sketches or images from weeks 1 to 4. Write down anything that looks different.	2 nights plus one evening indoors	Most changes are the air, not Saturn.
6 (new to it)	Show someone else Saturn, without the app.	Once	Teaching is the test.
6 (already observing)	Ten logged nights in total. Join a society’s planetary or observing section and ask how it uses members’ work.	2 nights

If it goes wrong

Cloud for a week. Common. Carry the week over and use the evenings to learn the sky with the app indoors.
You cannot find Saturn. Check the app’s time and location settings, and look lower than you expect.
Everything looks blurred in the telescope. It is usually the air. Try later in the night, when Saturn is higher, and on calmer nights.
You are too cold to stay out. Shorter sessions, more layers, a flask.
You lose your dark adaptation. Switch the phone to red, or put it away, and give it another 15 minutes.

Track it

Measure	Week 1	Week 6
Clear nights logged
Constellations you can find unaided
Longest session (minutes)
Best seeing score (1–5)
Saturn’s moons identified

What next

New to it? Read our beginner’s guide to stargazing, and spend a night at a certified Dark Sky Place around the next new moon.
Already observing? Keep Saturn as a long-term target and add Jupiter.
Add looking through a telescope at an astronomy society to your list.

General information, not medical advice. Check with your GP before starting a new exercise programme.