Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun in our solar system, is known for its iconic rings circling the planet. It’s surely a treat for stargazers to spot the beautiful structures from telescopes. However, Saturn’s rings are about to disappear due to an optical illusion, NASA said.
In 2025, Saturn’s rings that extend up to 70,006.4 to 140012.93 km from the surface of the Earth will be invisible from our planet. It is because the planet will tilt on-edge with Earth, making the huge rings disappear into an almost invisible line.
Saturn is not in perfect alignment with our planet – it’s tilt is currently ngled downward at 9 degrees and will decrease to a barely perceptible 3.7 degrees come 2024, New York Post reported.
A year later, when this angle hits zero, the rings will look like a horizontal strip parallel to the Earth. This, in turn, will make the structures too thin to see. It’s like keeping a sheet of paper parallel to our eyes.
However, this won’t be for long. The celestial circles will be visible in 2032 again when the gas planet will start rotating and the angle will hit 27 degrees. The next time humans will see Saturn from its side will be in 2038.
Saturn has seven rings, comprised mainly of ice, rocky debris and dust. They are believed to be the remains of comets, asteroids and moons that were violently separated by the planet’s gravitational pull.
Unfortunately, these rings will disappear for good and it will not just be an optical illusion. According to scientists, the planets massive structures could vanish in 300 million years.
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