It was in 1610 that the father of modern astronomy Galileo Galilei first spotted Saturn’s spectacular rings – although through his pioneering but primitive telescope he likened them more to ‘ears’.
Now, more than 400 years on, anyone with even a simple piece of kit can witness the cosmic spectacle with their own eyes.
Until 2025.
Saturn’s rings are going to disappear. Twice.
The original planetary hula hoop is made up of seven individual rings, which are thought to be comprised of bits of comets, asteroids and shattered moons that strayed too close to the gas giant and were torn to shreds by its powerful gravity.
There are also billions of chunks of ice, and the whole thing is coated in space dust.
No one is quite sure how old the rings are, although a study published in May suggested they are just babies in cosmic terms, potentially having formed just 400 million years ago – less than a tenth the age of the planet.
But one thing we do know is that they’re also disappearing, falling as icy rain into the Saturnian atmosphere below.
However, they’re also pretty big, stretching out 175,000 miles from the planet, so it will be quite some time before Earthlings can see any difference – and at least 100 million years before they disappear entirely.
The more pressing issue is one of optical illusion. The rings may be massive in one dimension, but in another, they’re miniscule – measuring just ten metres thick.
This isn’t a problem right now, because Saturn isn’t in perfect alignment with Earth – it’s tilted at about a 9 degree angle. Next year, that will have decreased to about 3.7 degrees.
But from 2025, Saturn will be directly side on, and its beautiful rings will be too thin to see.
It’s like trying to see a sheet of paper side-on – but that sheet of paper is also at the other end of a football pitch.
Thankfully, the phenomenon won’t last long as the planet continues to incline away from Earth as part of its 29.5 year cycle, slowly revealing the underside of the rings until it reached maximum tilt in 2032.
And one bonus of the planet being less tilted is that it makes the Ringed Planet’s moons easier to see.
For now though, Saturn is in a pretty great spot for some nighttime viewing, so grab that telescope and take a look while you can.
MORE : Spectacular JWST photos capture Saturn as never seen before
MORE : Final piece of the puzzle needed for life found on Saturn icy moon
MORE : Scientists think Saturn’s rings are just babies in cosmic terms
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Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
