GabyThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has promised that in 18 months, Saturn’s rings will suddenly disappear. However, this is not a reason to be sad, as they simply won’t be visible from Earth. Astronomers they will only be able to see them again in October 2038.
Indeed, one day these giant rings will disappear forever. NASA’s Cassini probe, which flew through Saturn’s rings 22 times, found that its rings are “dying” at an enormous rate. They lose between 400 to 2800 kg of their mass every second. However, it will take several hundred million years before they are completely gone.
Why will Saturn’s rings disappear from the view of Earthlings?
As NASA explained, Saturn will tilt towards Earth at such an angle that its rings will appear as almost an invisible line.
These rings are enormous structures ranging from 70,000 to 140,000 kilometers wide. Their average thickness is about 10 meters, and in some places, they are as thin as paper. Therefore, if viewed from a certain angle, the rings can be completely invisible.
Due to the tilt of its orbit, Saturn slightly wobbles towards and away from the Sun during its rotation period around the star (which lasts 29.5 years). Every 13.7 to 15.7 years, Earthlings can see the planet beautifully from the side. At a distance of 1.2 billion km, the rings appear to us as if they are disappearing.
In their current state, Saturn’s rings are tilted towards Earth at an angle of 9 degrees. By 2024, this angle will decrease to 3.7 degrees, the publication reported. Daily Mail .
The last visible disappearance of Saturn’s rings was observed in September 2009, and before that, in February 1996.
After the next disappearance in 2025, the rings will become increasingly noticeable starting in 2032. By 2038, they will be best observed.
A little more about Saturn and its rings.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. Sun and the second largest planet in our Solar System after Jupiter. The distance from Saturn to the Sun is 1.434 billion km. The surface area is 42.7 billion km². The radius is 58,232 km.
Thanks to its bright rings, this planet is called the “pearl of the Solar System.” Although Saturn is not the only planet with rings, none of them have a ring system as complex and amazing as Saturn’s.
They are primarily made up of pieces of ice, rock, and dust that have been trapped by the planet’s gravitational pull. While some particles are tiny—no larger than grains of sand—some chunks of ice can be the size of a house or even a mountain.
It is believed that the rings formed from the remnants of comets, asteroids, and moons that were shattered under the powerful gravity of Saturn.
