Bhubaneswar (Odisha): Saturn and Earth will be closest to each other in a year on August 2 at 11.30 am, said Dr Suvendu Pattnaik, Deputy Director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium. People across the world that will be in their nighttime, will be able to see a bright Saturn, he told the media.
"As per Indian Standard Time (IST) at 11.30 am, Saturn and Earth will be closest to each other. It will be daytime in India but wherever there is nighttime, people will see a bright Saturn," said Dr Pattnaik.
Earth takes about 365 days to orbit the sun while Saturn takes around 29.5 years for completing one full revolution of the sun, he informed. "Once every year, Earth and Saturn come close to each other while revolving in their orbital path. In a time span of 1 year and 13 days they come closest to each other. Earlier, they came close on July 20, 2020 and will again do so on August 14, 2022," said the senior planetarium official.