Saturn's Rings to Burst Forth for Stargazers, Backlit by the Sun on July 19

By Morgan Delack

Stargazers and astronomy lovers in Cedar Falls will be in for a treat on July 19 when Saturn is expected to be especially photogenic.

According to Corbis, the solar system will be backlit by the sun on Friday, making Saturn’s rings incredibly visible for the first time since 2006. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft will be taking photos of Earth as it looks from Saturn on Friday as well, Space.com reports. Although the spacecraft has taken images from Saturn before, this will be the first time the public has been notified in advance. 

According to EarthSky.org, Saturn is found in the south to southwest sky after sunset and stays in the sky through midnight.

Though Cedar Falls is forecast to have partly-cloudy skies Friday night, AccuWeather gives the Cedar Valley a "good" prognosis for stargazing.