At 12:04 p.m. on Sunday, Earth officially passed through the sixth planet’s “ring plane.”
Due to a transition in Saturn’s planetary axis, Earth’s ability to perceive Saturn’s vibrant rings will be in “perfect alignment” with Earth, causing them to be nearly invisible, according to space.com.
At 12:04 p.m. on Sunday, Earth officially passed through the sixth planet’s “ring plane.”
“The rings engage in sort of a planetary ‘sleight of hand,’ where, when viewed from the edge, the rings seem to disappear (think of a sheet of paper—it looks large when viewed from above, but as you tilt it, it gets thinner and thinner),” explained Dr. Amy Simon, Senior Scientist for Planetary Atmospheres Research in the Solar System Exploration Division at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
In the 1600s, Galileo Galilei described the faraway world as having “ears.” Once the rings vanish from sight, the planet with ears will look like “a pale yellow sphere” through telescopes. Earth.com claims that only the most powerful of telescopes might be able to see the subtle line of Saturn’s rings.
The rings stretch around 170,000 miles long but are only about 30 feet thick, according to space.com.
The rings will come back into full view in November as Earth and Saturn will shift positions, and lucky skywatchers may even be able to catch a glimpse of its many moons.
The Weather Authority is calling for a mix of clouds across the central Kentucky sky when Saturn is at its brightest Monday evening. Celestial enthusiasts will want to jump at the chance to witness the solar system’s next magic trick.
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