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Saturn’s rings were first discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. (Photo: NASA)
JAKARTA – A characteristic of the planet Saturn is that the rings surrounding it disappear over time. Scientists estimate that Saturn’s rings will completely disappear from Earth’s view in 2025.
Saturn’s rings were first discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610 using his telescope. Now the ring is still in place and can be seen with simple tools.
Unfortunately, in 2025 it is estimated that Saturn’s rings will disappear. Quoted from Metro, Friday (3/11/2023), Saturn’s rings consist of pieces of comets, asteroids and destroyed moons that got too close to this gas giant and were torn apart by its strong gravity. There are also billions of pieces of ice, and the whole thing is covered in space dust.
No one is really sure how old the rings are, although a study published in May said they formed only 400 million years ago or about one-tenth the age of Saturn. However, one thing is certain, the rings are starting to disappear, falling as hailstones into Saturn’s atmosphere below.
It’s just that because it is large, stretching for 175,000 miles, it will be quite a long time before Earthlings can see any differences and at least 100 million years before Saturn’s rings completely disappear.
The main problem here is optical illusion. Saturn’s rings may be large in one dimension, but in another, they are very small – only about ten meters thick.
Currently this size is not a problem, because Saturn is not in a straight line with Earth, it is tilted at about 9 degrees. Next year, that will decrease to about 3.7 degrees. But starting in 2025, Saturn will be right next to Earth and its beautiful rings will be too thin to see.
As a simple analogy, this is like trying to look at a piece of paper from the side, but that piece of paper is at the end of a football field.
Luckily, this phenomenon won’t last long as the planet continues to tilt away from Earth as part of its 29.5 year cycle, slowly revealing the underside of the rings until it reaches maximum tilt in 2032. As a result, Saturn’s rings are easier to see .
(msf)