SATURN’S iconic rings are set to disappear in weeks, and won’t come back into full view until 2032
The vanishing act is all down to an optical illusion due to Saturn’s tilt, which will turn the giant hoops of debris into an almost invisible line.
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The line will be so faint that it will be impossible to see from Earth, even with a telescope.
The best time to view Saturn’s rings before the disappearance would have been late last year, when they were tilted at an around 9 degree angle.
That angle has now decreased to around 3.7 degrees – meaning it will still be slightly harder to spot the hoops.
Though it should still be possible, with the help of a telescope, you only have a matter of weeks to do so.
By 23 March, Saturn’s seven rings will have vanished from view.
Fortunately, the rings will only disappear completely for a few days.
After this time, the rings will continue to become more and more visible as Saturn starts to tilt away from Earth again.
In 2032, when Saturn reaches its maximum tilt, stargazers will be able to enjoy the best view of the iconic rings.
It will be the clearest view of the rings for a decade, as they go through a phase of disappearance once every 13 to 16 years.
The temporary phenomenon, called a ring-plane crossing, last occurred in 2009.
It gives stargazers a glimpse at what Saturn could look like 100 million to 300 million years from now.
Scientists believe there is a far distant future where Saturn will permanently lose its rings.
The rings are thought to be made up of cosmic debris from comets, asteroids or shattered moons.
Gravity is expected to pull that debris down into Saturn’s upper atmosphere – vaporising the iconic rings in a process known as ‘ring rain’.
All you need to know about planets in our solar system
Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all…
- How old is Earth? Plus other facts on our planet
- How many moons does Mercury have?
- What colour is Venus?
- How far away is Mars to Earth? And other facts on the red planet
- How big is Jupiter?
- How many moons does Saturn have?
- Does Uranus have rings?
- How many moons does Neptune have?
- How big is Pluto?
- How hot is the Sun?
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