Celestrian G2 Monocular

[Saturn 5]

Can somebody guide me on when the planet Saturn is best to view in the sky.

And which direction to point 

[Mandy D]

At this time of year, Saturn is rising in the east about 4 hours before sunrise, if you are in Melbourne, Australia. Wait until it is high above the horizon for the best views, but before the sky begins to brighten at sunrise.

Try Stellarium online for finding things in the night sky. I could not figure how to set it to your local time, so it might be running UTC for me. Maybe someone here knows how to do it.

https://stellarium-web.org/

[bosun21]

You will struggle to view Saturn with your monocular at only 10x24. The planets require much higher magnification. If you download Stellarium and input your location you will be able to advance the time and date to see the time of Saturns rise and fall. Just put Saturn in the search box to highlight it on the screen.

Edited April 29, 2023 by bosun21

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Saturn 5 and welcome to SGL.

When I started amateur astronomy in my mid-teens and mid-1970's, I was using a Tasco 4ETE. [image below].

I could just make Saturn at 40x as an elongated disc. Jupiter was a little easier, as I had the four Galilean moon's as a reference. Venus would be a bright dot of white light and Mars a red/orange dot. Even with my binoculars [7x50 or 20x80] Saturn is still an elongated disc.

To get any details of the planets, you will need a telescope. Stars will will always remain as a point of light because of the vast distance, but may reveal a companion or companions. Galaxies and other DSO's will appear fuzzy, even from a dark site.

Depending on your budget, no 'scope does all! Have a look here... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html for more information, etc.