Saturn hovers near the Libra-Virgo border throughout its 2012-2013 apparition. That makes it reasonably well placed for telescopic viewing through July or early August.

Saturn on Feb. 23

On Feb. 23, 2008, Saturn's rings were tilted 8½'° toward Earth — almost twice their maximum tilt during the 2009/2010 apparition.

S&T: Sean Walker

Saturn's spectacular rings are now well tilted with respect to Earth, allowing fine views of features such as the Cassini Division between the A and B rings. They will appear even wider during Saturn's 2013-2014 apparition.

In addition to the rings, Saturn's moons are always fun to watch. But aside from 8th-magnitude Titan, which is visible even in binoculars, all of Saturn's moons are relatively faint, and they're easy to confuse with stars. So you really need a good chart or computer tool to tell you which moons are where at any given moment.

Try our Javascript utility to see how the moons are positioned at any moment.

For more information, see our Observing Guide to Saturn.

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