Episode 5 (Mini): What are 'Planets in Opposition'?

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Episode highlights and timestamps

00:00 - 00:41 Introduction

00:41 - 02:32 What are 'Planets in Opposition'?

02:32 - 03:17 Why is it important?

03:17 - 05:19 What to expect for the next opposition

Transcript

LYDIA (revising the planets)

Okay, so -- wait -- my very efficient mother just served us...nuggets.

(Introduction jingle)

Hello and welcome to Void Deck by Science Centre Singapore.

I’m Lydia and today we have Jogie. She's a Science Educator at the centre.

And today we are at a special place.

We are actually inside our–

JOGIE

Portable planetarium!

LYDIA

Portable planetarium.

So it's actually powered up by a fan so it might be a bit noisier than usual.

We'll try our best to fix it in post.

But today we are going to be talking about planets in opposition.

But what is ‘planets in opposition’?

What does it even mean?

JOGIE

Okay, so opposition in general, when we talk about astronomical opposition, is when a celestial body is aligned with the Earth and the Sun. So we have planet - Earth - Sun in one straight line and Earth is in the middle of this planet X as well as the Sun.

LYDIA

So when you say that the Earth is in the middle of the sun and another planet, that means some planets will never ever be in opposition to Earth, right?

JOGIE

Yeah!

LYDIA

Mercury.

Venus.

Because they are closer to the sun.

JOGIE

Yeah. From Venus, the planet in opposition would be Earth. 

Because Venus is in the middle of Earth and the Sun– if we are talking from the perspective of us living on Venus. 

LYDIA

So if you look up at the sky, right, and let's say it's a Sun setting, so it'll be on one end of the horizon.

Will we be able to see the planet on the other side of the sky?

JOGIE
Yeah. So the sun will be on one side of the sky, and the planet is on the other side.

So when the sun sets and the sky gets darker, that's when we will be able to see these planets.

But it must be dark enough. If not, if it's too bright, we can't really see anything.

LYDIA

We can see (planets in opposition) with our naked eye but to us, it'll just look like a ‘star’, right?

JOGIE

Yeah, probably we might mistake it as a ‘star’ because it's just one dot.

But do you know that stars and planets – we can actually tell them apart based on whether they are blinking or not.

LYDIA

So we have to stare and then see whether it's like twinkling noises 

JOGIE

Yeah!

If it's twinkling, then it’s a star.

If it's just like a dot there that is constantly emitting light, that's actually a planet.

LYDIA

Okay, but why is (having a planet in opposition) so important to us?

Why does it matter?

JOGIE

I guess it's important because it's the best moment where we get to view such planets.

LYDIA

Is it like it's closest to the Earth at that point of time, right?

JOGIE

Yeah. Because of the distance from the Earth and also because of lighting.

So the sun is shining its light directly at the planet's face.

LYDIA

Isn't the Earth blocking the sunlight?

JOGIE

Yea, but they are not on the same level. So maybe the planet could be slightly above.

LYDIA

Is it similar to the Earth and the Moon?

JOGIE

Yeah, so the moon orbits the Earth, right?

But the orbit of the moon is tilted at a five degrees angle.

So this is also the same case for all the other planets as well.

LYDIA

We've talked about planets in opposition.

Is there one coming up? 

JOGIE

Yup.

So the upcoming one is Saturn in opposition happening on 4th October 2026.

LYDIA

Is there anything that we can particularly see that day?

JOGIE

Usually when we have Saturn in opposition, the distinct ring systems would be much more obvious using a telescope.

And if, I mean if you are lucky enough, you might be even able to see its largest moon, Titan.

LYDIA

So it will be Saturn and then like a dot beside it?

JOGIE

Yeah.

LYDIA

So all you have to do is go outside.

Hopefully it's a clear enough day,

put out our telescopes

and try and find Saturn

and you’ll be able to see it.

Brighter, clearer, bigger.

JOGIE

Yes.

LYDIA

And it's not just going to happen on just that night, right? 

JOGIE

Yeah. So when we talk about opposition, we are referring to the peak of this situation where this straight line happens.

But then even a few weeks before or after, we can still see Saturn relatively big and bright.

LYDIA

So we’ll definitely see it during that week of 4th October.

That means we can check it out at Science Centre too?

JOGIE

Yes, you can come over to Science Centre and look through our telescopes to look at Saturn, providing the sky conditions are clear.

LYDIA

When we are at the Science Centre for that session, will we be able to see just from the ground telescopes or just the big one?

JOGIE

I think both. Even with our naked eyes we can see Saturn, but of course we can't see its features-- the rings and stuff. 

LYDIA

Okay, cool. And we actually have Saturn up on the sky right now too in our very lovely portable dome.

So if you are interested to learn more about astronomy, do check out the live planetarium shows on Fridays at Science Centre Singapore. Of course, you can also check out our eMagazine Void Deck or look at our past episodes.