SATURN TO LOSE ITS RINGS WITHIN 18 MONTHS
Every planet in the solar system has iconic elements that make it easy for us to identify them. When it comes to Saturn, its big bright rings are a dead giveaway.
Now, NASA has confirmed that Saturn might lose its rings in the next 18 months.
The rings are made up of ice and rock coated in different materials including dust.
According to studies and data collected from different sources, in 2025 Saturn will be tilting in such a way that the rings will disappear because the iconic rings will be obscured.
That’s because the angle of the tilt will drop to zero on 23 March 2025.
Unilad reports that this tilt in the orbit means that every 13.7 to 15.7, we will see Saturn perfectly on its side for a short period.
Because Saturn is 746 million miles away from Earth, the position will mean the rings will vanish, although only temporarily.
This will happen again on 15 October 2038, and then again on 1 April and 9 July 2039.
The last time this happened was in September 2009 and before that was in February 1996.
Image credit: Newsweek