Fact Check: Saturn and Rings Seen in Hazy Image 30 Minutes Before Sunset?

Claim:

A photo shared online in early July 2024 authentically showed Saturn and its rings 30 minutes before sunset on Earth.

Rating:

True ( About this rating? )

On July 6, 2024, an X user posted a hazy photo ( archived ) purportedly showing Saturn and its rings half an hour before sunset on Earth.

"Saturn captured just 30 minutes before sunset," the caption read.

Similar posts appeared elsewhere on X in December 2022 , June 2023 , twice in December 2023 , and July 2024 . They also cropped up on Facebook in November 2022 and Reddit in February 2024.

Together, the posts had amassed more than 6.4 million views.

Astrophotographer Grant Petersen captured this stunning image of Saturn about 30 minutes before sunset.
by u/Ok-Committee1892 in spaceporn

The image was originally captured by astrophotographer Grant Petersen , who regularly posts examples of his work on his X account .

On Nov. 9, 2022, Petersen posted the original picture of Saturn and its rings on X with a caption that noted the equipment he used for the shot: "I captured #Saturn about 30 minutes before sunset. C9.25 - 2 x barlow - ZWO ASI224mc #Astrophotography."

The C9.25 optical tube , Barlow lenses and ZWO cameras he mentioned were all available for the public to buy.

Petersen's X account contained numerous similar photos of the gas giant and other images of planets, such as Jupiter , Neptune and Mars .

The astrophotographer also posted several photos and a video of the equipment he has used to capture the stunning images over the years.

Space photography website Photographing Space interviewed Petersen in November 2019 , and his work was featured in Tech Times and Business Insider that year.

Snopes approached the astrophotographer for comment and will update this article if we receive a response.

Sources:

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Celestron . https://www.celestron.com/products/c9-25-optical-tube-assembly-cg-5-dovetail . Accessed 10 July 2024.

Chan, Athena. 'Astrophotographer Grant Petersen Used His Smartphone To Capture Image Of Saturn "Touching" The Moon'. Tech Times , 27 Apr. 2019, https://www.techtimes.com/articles/242398/20190427/astrophotographer-grant-petersen-used-his-smartphone-to-capture-image-of-saturn-touching-the-moon.htm .

Mosher, Dave. 'A Photographer Recorded Saturn "touching" the Moon with His Smartphone, and the Pictures Are Stunning'. Business Insider , https://www.businessinsider.com/saturn-moon-conjunction-smartphone-pictures-2019-4 . Accessed 10 July 2024.

Schmitz, Cory. 'Interview with a Smartphone Astrophotographer: Grant Petersen • PhotographingSpace.Com'. PhotographingSpace.Com , 10 Nov. 2019, https://www.photographingspace.com/grant-petersen-smartphone-astrophotography/ .

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