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(NEXSTAR) — Skywatchers have had a dazzling year so far, with a solar eclipse, the return of the Devil’s Comet, and multiple chances to see the Northern Lights. This spectacular sight will continue until 2025. Or, more appropriately, the disappearance of certain sights.
It is related to Saturn, which may be one of the most recognizable planets in the solar system thanks to its rings. According to NASA, these tree rings are thought to be made up of chunks of rock and ice that range in size from tiny grains to chunks as large as houses.
However, those rings will “disappear” in 2025.
Like Earth, Saturn’s axis is tilted, NASA explains. Next year, Saturn will transition, changing its tilt and changing the way we see it as Earth crosses its ring plane. This is where the disappearance case comes into play.
“The ring is doing a ‘magic trick’ like a planet, and when you look at it from the edge it appears to disappear (imagine a piece of paper. It looks big when you look at it from above, but when you tilt it , and get thinner and thinner),” explained Dr. Amy Simon, a senior scientist in planetary atmosphere research at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Solar System Exploration Division.
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Saturn is millions of miles away from us and its rings are so thin that we can be just a few degrees above or below it and lose sight of its rings, Simon said in an email. told Nexstar. She noted that the size and quality of the telescope and the “quietness of Earth’s atmosphere” could also affect the ability to see Saturn’s rings.
Simon said Saturn’s rings will disappear for several days starting March 23, depending on the telescope you use to observe them. The rings will “remain very thin” for many months next year.
“Unfortunately, Saturn will be very close to the Sun in the March sky, so it will be difficult to see it with small telescopes,” she says. “However, due to Earth’s short orbit, similar geometric patterns occur in November, when Saturn is easier to see, but not as head-on as in March, so the rings may be barely visible.”
Simon pointed out that the situation will improve again in about 13 to 15 years. As surprising as this event may be, NASA has previously reported that during Earth’s triple transit in 2038-39, traversal of Saturn’s ring surface will be even better, giving us three chances to see Saturn seemingly without its rings. reported. April 1, 2039. And on July 9, 2039.
Until then, we should hope for a positive phenomenon in March 2025. Simon said there’s also a chance to see a total lunar eclipse a week earlier than March 14, when Saturn’s rings disappear.
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