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 Exact Location: Salucag, Dolores, Abra (17°38'55.33"N, 120°42'32.03"E)

 Date & Time: April 30, 2022
 Time Flow Rate: 3 hours and 30 mins

Members:
1. Marie Joy P. Pacapac – Salucag, Dolores, Abra

I. Introduction
“Salucag” is a barangay in the municipality of Dolores, in the province of Abra. It is just
a small barangay which has a population of 394 determined by the 2020 Census and represent
3.42% of total population of Dolores, Abra. On the other hand, our barangay is also elevated and
consist of trees, rice fields, and a river. Moreover, conducting activities in our place such as
stargazing and other astronomical observations is very convenient. Furthermore, our place is also
environmentally friendly and the view of the sky is very fascinating.
In connection to this, I have decided to conduct a naked eye celestial observation here in
our barangay last April 30, 2022 at exactly 11:00 pm and ended at 2:30 am. I conducted my
observation by staying late at night and went to an open space near to our house and in every 30
minutes interval I record my observations and compared the difference in every interval as a
record for each and every time spent. I chose to observe at that time because I have noticed that
during those hours of the night many things can be discovered and contemplated that can be used
as an answer to curiosity of the mind. Conducting such activity is important for students or even
citizens in terms of future researches, investigations, and also to train ourselves to be observant.
Another is that it trains our mind to be curious and being curious makes us eager to find answers
to our curiosity and this helps us to improve our critical thinking. According to Dewey (2019)
critical thinking enhances creativity, reinforces problem-solving ability, fosters independence
and also helps you to anticipate problems and preventing them before they arise.

II. Body
During my observation I saw stars, moon, constellations, and some planets like Venus, Mars,
Jupiter, and Saturn. I have noticed that in able for you to distinguish a planet and a star you must
observe if they twinkle or not. If a celestial body twinkles, then you can conclude that it is a star
and otherwise if not. Moreover, if stars twinkle, they may appear to change in color. So, for you
to see a planet with the naked eye you must observe properly.
Based from my observation, Saturn is proven to be seen with the naked eye only but with
accordance to the current weather. If the sky is cloudy, then Saturn can not be seen or maybe
difficult to be seen with just the naked eye because Saturn has only average visibility. While on
the other hand, during the time of my observation Venus was also visible here in the Philippines.
However, the five planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can be seen but during the
activity, I have only seen the four planets, Mercury is not visible because I have researched that
it can only be seen between 6:30 AM to 5:00 PM and that time is not beyond my observation
period. In addition to this, stars can be clearly seen during the observation but out of curiosity I
discovered that when the sky is cloudy stars are not also visible.
 On this activity it is also required to choose one planet to be discussed and I chose Saturn.
Saturn’s name comes from the Roman god of agriculture, who is equated with the Greek
deity Cronus, one of the Titans and the father of Zeus (the Roman god Jupiter). As the farthest of
the planets known to ancient observers, Saturn also was noted to be the slowest-moving. At a
distance from the Sun that is 9.5 times as far as Earth’s, Saturn takes approximately 29.5 Earth
years to make one solar revolution. Saturn’s rotation period was very difficult to
determine. Cloud motions in its massive upper atmosphere trace out a variety of periods, which
are as short as about 10 hours 10 minutes near the equator and increase with some oscillation to
about 30 minutes longer at latitudes higher than 40°. Saturn’s visible layer of clouds is formed
from molecules of minor compounds that condense in the hydrogen-rich
atmosphere. Its magnetic field resembles that of a simple dipole, or bar magnet, its north-south
axis aligned to within 1° of Saturn’s rotation axis with the center of the magnetic dipole at the
center of the planet. According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and
Britannica, Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest planet in our solar
system. In the night sky Saturn is easily visible to the unaided eye as a non-twinkling point of
light. When viewed through even a small telescope, the planet encircled by its magnificent rings
is arguably the most sublime object in the solar system. Saturn is designated by the symbol ♄. It
has an overall hazy yellow-brown appearance. The surface that is seen through telescopes and in
spacecraft images is actually a complex of cloud layers decorated by many small-scale features,
such as red, brown, and white spots, bands, eddies, and vortices, that vary over a fairly short
time. Adorned with thousands of beautiful ringlets, Saturn is unique among the planets. It is not
the only planet to have rings made of chunks of ice and rock but none are as spectacular or as
complicated as Saturn's. The rings we see are made of groups of tiny ringlets that surround
Saturn. Like fellow gas giant Jupiter, Saturn is a massive ball made mostly of hydrogen and
helium. It takes about 10.7 hours (no one knows precisely) to rotate on its axis once a Saturn
“day” and 29 Earth years to orbit the sun. Saturn is a gas-giant planet and therefore does not have
a solid surface like Earth’s. But it might have a solid core somewhere in there. Saturn's
atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen (H2) and helium (He). It has 53 known moons with
an additional 29 moons awaiting confirmation of their discovery that is a total of 82 moons.
There are seven major rings, with the largest being 180,000 miles across, and countless
smaller ringlets, some of which are held in place by shepherd moons. Saturn cannot support
life as we know it, but some of Saturn's moons have conditions that might support life. Saturn’s
magnetic field is generated by the fluid motions in the electrically conducting portion of the
interior of the planet. This region, in which hydrogen exists in a fluid metallic state around a
central rocky core, comprises the inner half of the planet. Although Saturn’s rings and moons
may seem to constitute two groups of quite different entities, they form a single complex system
of objects whose structures, dynamics, and evolution are intimately linked. The orbits of the
innermost known moons fall within or between the outermost rings, and new moons continue to
be found embedded in the ring structure. Indeed, the ring system itself can be considered to
consist of myriad tiny moons ranging from mere dust specks to car and house-sized pieces in
their own individual orbits around Saturn. Because of the difficulty in distinguishing between the
largest ring particles and the smallest moons, determining a precise number of moons for Saturn
may not be possible.

III. LESSONS LEARNED

IV. REFERENCES

Buratti, B., Hubbard, William B. and Marley. Mark (2021). Saturn. Encyclopedia
Britannica.
Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/place/Saturn-planet

Richard J. Bartlett (2021). Planets Visible Tonight. Telescopic Watch

Retrieved from: https://teliscopicwatch.com

Alahna Kindred, Harry Petit (2020). Eyes to the Skies. The Sun
Retrieved from: https://thesun.co.uk