Saturn's Rings Will Vanish Temporarily In Six Months

"Earth.com has an interesting article about the temporary "disappearance" of Saturn's rings in about six months," writes longtime Slashdot reader YVRGeek. From the report: Come March 2025, Saturn's majestic rings will become virtually invisible to earth-based observers. This phenomenon occurs due to the unique tilt of Saturn's axis, which will position the rings edge-on to our line of sight. [...] Saturn's axial tilt, which is the angle its axis leans compared to its orbit around the Sun, is about 27 degrees. As Saturn moves during its 29.5 year orbit around the Sun, this tilt means different parts of its rings and moons get sunlight at different angles, changing how they look. So, the rings are not really disappearing but rather playing a celestial game of hide and seek. At their reappearance, we can also enjoy an accentuated view of Saturn's moons.

Vanish temporarily

[rossdee]

Meanwhile the sun has vanished from the sky temporarily (over the eastern US) since it is night time...

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[bill_mcgonigle]

Imagine if this were news for nerds and 'Saturn's rings will appear edge-on in six months' were an Interesting headline.

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[tlhIngan]

Imagine if this were news for nerds and 'Saturn's rings will appear edge-on in six months' were an Interesting headline.

More fascinating is that this is one of the longer times they will disappear - it's happened in the past but not for as long.

The reason is the rings are thinning - they say about an olympic swimming pool's worth (by volume) is being drawn into Saturn itself every second, so its newsworthy in that Saturn's rings are so thin enough that it's basically going to be edge on and invisible for th

Re:sun vanished from the sky after 7pm

[Tablizer]

MTG: "Quick, launch a probe so we can land on it before it gets hot again!"

Believe that, if you're gullible

[93 Escort Wagon]

The truth is - someone has been stealing all the Ace Rimmer funereal capsule beacons, but no one knows why yet.

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[snookiex]

The truth is, this is caused by Saturn's climate change and global warming, but the spacecraft fuel producers don't want you to know.

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[Tablizer]

What, no DEI jokes about the rings being an unfair advantage? The trolls are slipping.

That will just delay the mass panic

[TheNameOfNick]

when they do not reappear. Apparently the arks for the 1% aren't ready yet.

News for Cavemen

[battingly]

I guess Slashdot is being rebranded.

I’m not saying it’s aliens

[UnknowingFool]

. . . But it’s aliens.

Re:I'm not saying it's aliens

[Tablizer]

Saturn got a divorce, so is returning the ring. Its mate lost interest when it got chubby in the middle. [wikipedia.org]

Seems fishy

[backslashdot]

Guys, you dont think this is a bit unusual? It can't be a coincidence, planetary rings don't just disappear. It's got to be the deep state involved, could be a ploy by the Democrats to swear in Kamala at the inauguration (even if Trump wins) while people are distracted.

Magnificent!

[JackAxe]

The planet size handkerchief that covers Saturn right before its rings vanish will truly be a sight to behold! I'm buying a telescope.

I saw a click-bait ad

[Tablizer]

...on another site that said something like "Saturn's beautiful rings will soon disappear. Buy our scope before it's too late!"

Some people's kids

[YVRGeek]

As the OP, I want to say that while some of you seem to get it, I don't quite get what's wrong with those of you making fun of the post... this is absolutely a story of interest to people interested in science. It was for me, by way of example and if you're not, why are you here? But perhaps you don't understand that this is a rare solar-system event that even amateurs can actually watch as the transition happens. Amateur and pro astronomers will definitely be making time-lapse videos of it happening and I

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[LazarusQLong]

agreed. I for one am glad to see this News for Nerds article!

Thanks for posting this clearly nerdy article!