Saturn is a gas planet and consists of hydrogen and traces of helium, traces of water, methane, ammonia and heavy elements. Earthlings primarily recognize this planet by its rings. They were discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. The rings contain ice and dust, but according to some hypothesis, they are erupted by volcanoes on Saturn’s satellites.
The rings are very thin and lie exactly in the plane of the planet’s equator. Their thickness is approximately four kilometers. At the same time, they are very wide due to the fact that they extend for many tens of thousands of kilometers, occupying a certain position in space, and are available for observation.
By the way, all giant planets have rings. There are four of them in the Solar System – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. But compared to Saturn’s rings, they are barely noticeable.
Because Saturn’s rings are wide enough to be angled toward Earth, they present a beautiful sight to observers. During normal times, Saturn’s rings are clearly visible even through small telescopes.
Where did Saturn’s rings disappear and when will they appear?
According to Svetlana Moshkina, an astronomer from the V. G. Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute (AFIF), the planet Saturn makes one revolution around the Sun in 29.5 years, and most of the time its rings are clearly visible to the observer. But the appearance of the rings changes from year to year.
“Twice during one revolution of Saturn around the Sun, the rings are edge-on to the Earth. Then they become very thin and resemble only a luminous line. On average, this happens once every 14-15 years. Scientists call this event the passage of the Earth through the plane of Saturn’s rings,” the specialist explained.
The star expert noted that in 2025, the “disappearance” of the rings will happen twice – on March 23 and November 26. Such phenomena are observed from any point on the globe. The astronomer also explained that it will take six years to wait for Saturn’s rings to fully open for observation. They will be most visible in December 2031.
The last time Saturn’s inner rings disappeared was in 2009.
