by Saturn’s iconic rings will be “disappearing” for a few days from this weekend – at least from our viewpoint on Earth.
The rings will not really disappear, but for a short time the angle between earth and Saturn will create a cosmic illusion and, in our view, make the rings of the planet appear invisible.
The reason why this is done has to do with the specific inclinations of both planets. According to NASA, the Saturn axis is 26.73 degrees of vertically tilted by vertically, while circulating the sun that resembles the 23.5-degree tendency of the earth. If every planet turns on its axis and circles the sun, the appearance of Saturn, including its rings, can differ if they are viewed by telescopes or high -performance observatory on earth.
Occasionally, Saturn’s inclination angle turns the rings precisely towards the earth, so that the thin ligaments have disappeared.
“They literally almost disappear,” said Sean Walker, Associate Editor at Sky & Telescope, a monthly magazine about science and amateur astronomy. “Usually you see the rings around Saturn, but if you have an edge view, it looks like a Haardünne light line that simply overlaps.”
Saturn’s rings, which were photographed by Nasas Cassini spaceship on May 15, 2017.
In the past few months, the huge rings of Saturn seemed to have been viewed by ground -based telescopes. The rings reach this precise edge angle by Sunday.
The illusion is temporary and only takes about a day or two before the rings slowly come back into sight.
And the event is relatively rare: Ringebenkreuzungen – as the phenomenon is known – typically occur twice in the 29.4 years that Saturn needs to make a orbit around the sun. This means that they can be seen from earth about every 13 to 15 years.
Unfortunately, this weekend Saturn will be too close to the sun to see what it looks like without rings. However, another opportunity will be offered later on November 23 when the rings are almost dressed (if not exactly).
Walker said that in 1995 he witnessed a ring aircraft crossing with a back yard telescope.
“It was fantastic,” he said. “It looked like another planet. I spent a large part of the night to drink only in this view.”
It was about that time, he said when he was interested in astronomy.
Saturn’s rings, which were photographed by Nasas Cassini spaceship on November 28, 2016.
In addition to the structure of the Saturn rings, a ring level also occurs, not just a quirky product of geometry. The iconic accessories consists of billions of swirling stones made of stone and ice, but relatively flat, which is why the rings can disappear in a thin line when inclined to the earth.
The edge view also makes it easier to see more of Saturn’s moons, said Walker.
“If we have these ring aircraft transitions, the light, which normally reflects from Saturn’s rings, no longer increases back to earth,” he said. “That means you can see much more of the smaller moons.”
With a regular backyard telescope, Walker said, people can often recognize four to six moons around Saturn. During a ring level that crossed the dark sky, people may be able to recognize almost a dozen.
“The really careful people are obvious because they stand up in an almost perfect line,” he said.
After the ring aircraft crossing of this weekend, the next full will take place in 2038. According to Walker, this event should be visible from the earth.
“I would like to see it again,” he said. “It will be just a while to wait.”
This article was originally published on nbcnews.com
