November 17, 1402 at 08:46
NASA announced that astronomers have only 18 months to observe Saturn’s rings from Earth; But why can’t the rings of Saturn be observed after 2025?
According to NASA, astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts will be able to observe Saturn’s rings in just 18 months, until 2025; Because after that, Saturn will be tilted towards the Earth and its rings will become an invisible line. Therefore, it is no longer possible to see the rings of this planet as it is now.
Saturn’s rings will disappear
NASA has announced that after 2025, Saturn will tilt towards the Sun and away from it, and the inhabitants of the Earth will see a different view of its large rings during this time. Of course, Saturn’s rings will once again tilt towards the Earth in the next phase of Saturn’s 29-year orbit; In other words, astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts will be able to observe Saturn’s rings again in October 2038.
In general, Earth’s inhabitants see Saturn from its side view every 13.7 to 15.7 years. Currently, the rings of this planet are at an angle of 9 degrees to the Earth, and this angle will decrease to 3.7 degrees by 2024.
Saturn’s rings extend about 70,000 to 140,000 kilometers and are very thin; so that the height of the main rings only reaches 10 meters. These rings are composed of pieces of ice, rock and dust that are held together by Saturn’s gravitational pull. The dimensions of some of these particles are the size of grains of sand, and the dimensions of some of its ice pieces are the size of a big mountain.
Although this invisibility of Saturn’s rings is temporary and they can be observed again in 2038, studies show that there is a possibility of permanent disappearance of these rings. NASA’s Cassini probe, which passed by the rings of Saturn 22 times during its mission and finally fell into the atmosphere of this planet, has collected information that, after being examined by scientists, shows that the rings of this planet are in the stage of destruction.
According to the data collected by the Cassini probe, about 400 kg to 2.8 tons of the weight of the rings of this planet decreases every second. James Odongo, a planetary scientist at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said that we are trying to discover the exact rate of erosion of the rings of this planet.
This scientist further added that according to the investigations, the particles in the atmosphere of this planet receive an electric charge during a phenomenon called ring rain by the sun’s radiation, which will cause the particles to connect with the gas in the atmosphere of Saturn, and the planet’s gravity will also pull them. It will be removed from inside the rings. Also, studies indicate that the rings of this planet will disappear in a few 100 million years.
RCO NEWS