Saturn's famous ring system will 'disappear' tonight

For a few days, Saturn will temporarily 'go out of orbit', at least from the perspective of humanity on Earth, in a rare astronomical phenomenon that will only recur in 2038.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captures this image of Saturn and the planet's famous rings

At around 11:04 p.m. on March 23 (Vietnam time), Saturn's ring system will disappear and this condition will last for a few days before reappearing, earth.com reported today, March 23.

In fact, Saturn's Ring System is not falling anywhere, but it is just invisible to humans from the direction of the Earth due to the illusion between the Earth and Saturn.

The phenomenon occurs every 13 to 15 years and is called a "conjunction plane ring".

The above illusion appears because Saturn's axis tilts 26.73 degrees as it moves around the sun, while Earth's tilts 23.5 degrees.

“The ring system looks like it's disappearing,” said Sean Walker, editor of Sky & Telescope Magazine.

Normally people see Saturn's ring system, but when viewed from the side, they suddenly disappear, Mr. Walker explained.

Saturn's ring system extends 282,000 kilometers (176,000 miles) from the planet, and ranges from dust-sized icy particles to as large as a house, according to NASA.

Saturn takes about 29.4 years to complete an orbit around the sun, and the "escape" phenomenon occurs twice during each rotation.

Unfortunately, astronomy lovers could not see the phenomenon this time using telescopes from Earth, because Saturn was too close to the sun at that time.

The last time humans enjoyed the phenomenon was in 2009, and the next time after 2025 will be in 2038.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/he-thong-vanh-dai-noi-tieng-cua-sao-tho-se-bien-mat-vao-khuya-nay-185250323145701811.htm