NASA claims that Saturn's rings will be invisible from Earth in as little as 18 months' time.
Experts from the US space agency confirmed that by 2025 the infamous structure may no longer be visible. The enormous rings, which are 175,000 miles wide, will vanish due to an 'equinox' event.
Despite their massive stretch, the rings are only half a mile thick so when the planet 'tilts' in its alignment with Earth stargazers will at best be able to see a fine line. This means they look as if they have disappeared side-on.
READ MORE: NASA discovers seven new planets around star 'hotter than the sun'
For more of the latest news from the Daily Star, click here.
Although the rings will not be gone for good, they will not be visible from Earth again until the next phase of the planet's 29-year orbit period.
The seven distinct rings are made up of ice, rocky debris, and dust. This means they could vanish entirely due to erosion – although scientists don’t believe this will happen for another 300 million years.
The rings can only be seen a few years at a time before vanishing from perspective. Due to the tilt of its orbit, Saturn wobbles slightly towards and away from the sun during orbit.
-
'Holy grail' shipwreck with £16bn treasure to be raised from ocean amid ownership battle
So approximately every 13.7 to 15.7 years, we see the rings perfectly from the side, giving the appearance they’re invisible from 746 million miles (1.2 billion km) away. As it stands, Saturn's rings are tilted downwards towards Earth at an angle of 9 degrees and by 2024 that angle will have reduced to just 3.7 degrees.
The phenomenon has not occurred since September 2009, and before then it last occurred in February 1996. It will next occur in October 2038.
Keep up to date with all the latest news stories. By signing up for one of Daily Star's free newsletters here.
-
'Humans have already found aliens – they're not just little green men,' claims expert
Dr James O’Donoghue, a former NASA scientist said in April: "We’re still trying to figure out exactly how fast they are eroding. Currently, research suggests the rings will only be part of Saturn for another few hundred million years. This may sound like a long time, but in the history of the universe this is a relatively quick death." He continued: "We could be very lucky to be around at a time when the rings exist."
Saturn, a 'gas giant' planet like Jupiter, is the sixth farthest from the sun in our Solar System. It is about 886 million miles from the sun and about 793 million miles from Earth. It is also about nine-and-a-half times bigger than Earth.
Source: Read Full Article