News hardware Disappearance of Saturn’s rings in 2025: the explanation
Saturn’s rings will visually disappear in 2025. It will no longer be possible to clearly see the distinctive rings of the sixth planet in the solar system. But why does this phenomenon occur?
Saturn will lose its rings, yes and no
The first answer is yes: from Earth’s perspective, Saturn will actually take its rings. The second answer is no: the rings will still be there, but the axis of the planet means that they will no longer be visible.
This phenomenon should arrive in 2025 and will be easily observable via a telescope or even an astronomical telescope. We will only see the edge of the rings. On basic observing equipment, the rings will simply not appear. On amateur and professional telescopes, the side of the rings will be clearly visible. This will make the gas planet appear to be cut in half.
Did you know ? Also on Saturn there are seasons due to the planet’s tilt relative to the plane of its orbit. Thus, every 15 years, the rings seem to disappear, because they are seen from the edge. Next time is in 2025! (© D. Peach) pic.twitter.com/RqBz70F0Mq
— Eric Lagadec (@EricLagadec) July 22, 2022
As astrophysicist Eric Lagadec explains: “There are seasons due to the tilt of the planet relative to the plane of its orbit.” This phenomenon repeats itself every 15 years and will occur the next time in 2025.
Saturn’s Rings Will Really Disappear
This time it will not be a simple optical illusion. According to researchers from the
NASA
we are lucky to live in a time when Saturn’s rings exist. According to their estimate, the rings are already halfway through their life and could therefore disappear.
The reason for this future disappearance comes from the very strong attraction of Saturn. The rings are gradually attracted towards the large gas. The planet may well absorb its three due to its magnetic. This process called “annular rain” will probably not be observable by humans. Indeed, astrophysicists explain that total disappearance should happen within 100 million years.
This process has already happened, “little” ago. Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus also had rings. Even if on the latter it is always possible to observe them with a very powerful telescope.
The researchers also wondered if the rings appeared after the birth of the planet. According to their latest study, Saturn was not born with its rings. The gaseous planet which is about 4 billion years old would have its rings “only” for 100 million years.
This leaves us plenty of time to observe one of the most beautiful planets of our solar system. A way also to remember that the scale of the Universe is so large that the human consciousness of space / time is tiny.
