Saturn's rings will temporarily 'disappear' this weekend

Saturn’s iconic rings will appear to be invisible starting this weekend because of the way the planet's tilt aligns with Earth's.

Saturn’s iconic rings will seem to “disappear” for a couple of days starting this weekend — at least from our vantage point on Earth.

The rings won’t actually vanish, but for a short time, the angle between Earth and Saturn will create something of a cosmic illusion, making the planet’s rings appear invisible from our point of view.

The reason this occurs has to do with the specific tilts of both planets. Saturn’s axis is tilted 26.73 degrees from vertical as it orbits the sun, which is similar to Earth’s 23.5-degree tilt, according to NASA. So as each planet rotates on its axis and orbits the sun, Saturn’s appearance, including its rings, can differ when viewed through telescopes or high-powered observatories on Earth.

Occasionally, Saturn’s angle of tilt toward Earth turns the rings precisely edge-on, making it seem like the thin bands are gone.

“They literally almost disappear,” said Sean Walker, an associate editor at Sky & Telescope, a monthly magazine about science and amateur astronomy. “Normally you see the rings around Saturn, but when you have an edge-on view, it looks like a hair-thin line of light just cutting across.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/saturn-rings-temporarily-disappear-illusion-rcna194710

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