Beginning March 23, Saturn will lose its legendary decoration – the ring system. This phenomenon is temporary and is due to the peculiarity of the inclination of the axis of the gas giant. The last time such an event was seen in 2009, and the next chance for observers won’t come until the late 2030s.
Why are Saturn’s rings disappearing?
Like Earth, Saturn has a tilted axis of 26.7°, so during its motion around the Sun, its rings “open” or “close” to observers from Earth. On March 23, they will align exactly at right angles to us, becoming a thin line that even powerful telescopes will barely notice. The rings will not fully return to astronomers’ field of view until November at the earliest, reports in-the-sky.org.
The ring system extends 282,000 kilometers from the planet and consists of billions of icy and rocky fragments ranging from microscopic particles to objects the size of a house. This is the debris of comets, asteroids and moons captured by the giant’s gravity millions of years ago.
How to see a “bare” Saturn?
The best conditions for observation are for residents of southern latitudes: the planet will appear on the eastern horizon before dawn. However, Saturn will be too close to the Sun in northern regions, making it difficult to find. Even in ideal conditions, you will need a telescope with magnification from 25x, because the planet will be much dimmer without the rings.
While the phenomenon won’t be visually impressive, it is a reminder of the dynamics of the Solar System. The movement of the planets, changes in their positions and the interaction of gravitational forces can all be tracked even from Earth. And at the end of 2025, Saturn’s rings will be visible again, giving astronomers new opportunities for research.
Don’t miss this cosmic spectacle – it won’t happen again until a decade and a half later.
Earlier we reported on how astronomers discovered 128 moons of Saturn.
According to earth.com
