Saturn's Visual Magnitude

[BilliGoatsGruff]

Somebody humor me.
On Star Walk it says that Jupiter has a visual magnitude of -1.84 (rounded to two decimal points, sorry I'm being lazy) and Mars -1.26, but Saturn's is only 0.38. I always thought Saturn was visibly brighter than that? Or is it just deceiving because the stars near it make it seem bright?

I have to admit, in the few minutes of me writing this, I realise that the first time I went looking for Saturn it was quite tricky to see. The other night though it was quite bright. Another super stupid question; has Mars always been so bright? I've never bothered to look because I assumed it would be hard to find.

My apologies for all the ramblings. It's nearly 8pm and past my bedtime :rofl:

[sharptrack2]

Hi Billi,

I'm not an expert and I might be off a little, but Mars is considerably closer than Saturn, so by shear distance Saturn will be dimmer in apparent magnitude. The absolute magnitude is a function of size, I think.

So since Mars is approaching its closest point to Earth and Saturn is still away's off, it will appear brighter even though it is smaller. If I remember right Saturn is also nearly double the distance from Earth that Jupiter is, so Jupiter being as big as Saturn will still be brighter. Jupiter is also approaching its closest point to Earth.

It's all about distance, size, and luminosity (reflectivity). I'm still working on the basics of it as well.

[BilliGoatsGruff]

Thanks for the great answer :) it makes it easier to understand when you don't mention all the complicated stuff.
I honestly can't believe that I've never noticed mars before!

[Camelopardalis]

Yeah Saturn is twice as far away as Jupiter and isn't as big...although we're lucky that it's as bright as it is because the rings are near maximum tilt.

Mars is small but much much closer than both...at least, this close to opposition. It'll get brighter still and then after opposition it will start fading very quickly as we overtake...noticeably so over the course of a few weeks.

[barx1963]

It has been a few years since Mars has been this good. Early tonight it was an amazing sight, a bright red beacon in the eastern sky. I think being low emphasises the red colour.

The images that are being presented of Mars are evidence what a nice apparition we are experiencing ATM (and the immense skill of the imagers of course.)

Malcolm

[BilliGoatsGruff]

The bright red light was what had me looking. It really stood out. The images have been amazing :) I might set up tonight, if the sky is clear and have a nosey.