ABSTRACT
Saturn, the outermost planet known in ancient times, is sixth in order of distance from the Sun. The opposition magnitude is affected both by Saturn’s varying distance and by the angle of presentation of the rings. The first observations of Saturn must have been made in prehistoric times. The first recorded observations seem to have been those made in Mesopotamia in the mid-7th century BC. Copernicus recorded an observation of Saturn on 26 April 1514, when the planet lay in line with the stars ‘in the forehead of Scorpio’; he also noted the position of Saturn on 5 May 1514, 13 July 1520 and 10 October 1527. Saturn’s globe shows belts, not unlike those of Jupiter, but much less prominent, and sensibly curved. The first modern-type model of Saturn was proposed in 1938 by R. Wildt. Saturn’s atmosphere contains relatively more hydrogen and less helium than in the case of Jupiter.
