RINGED PLANET

http://www.spaceweather.com/
A quick intake of breath. Disbelief. A second look. That's what usually happens when when someone sees Saturn for the first time through a backyard telescope.

There's no better time to look than this Friday. On Jan. 27th, Saturn will be at its closest to Earth for all of 2006. Even a small telescope will show the planet's exquisite rings.

Alan Friedman of Buffalo, NY, took this picture through his 10-inch telescope on Jan. 21st. "The northern hemisphere, visible above the rings, appears strikingly blue compared to the warm hued southern latitudes," he notes.

Ready to see for yourself? Saturn rises in the east after sunset. It looks like a bright yellow star just below the Beehive star cluster: sky map.