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Credit & Copyright: Damian Peach/SEN
Explanation:
On Saturn, the rings tell you the season.
On Earth, Wednesday marks an
equinox, the time when the
Earth's equator tilts directly toward the Sun.
Since Saturn's grand rings orbit along the planet's
equator,
these rings appear
most prominent -- from the direction of the Sun --
when the spin axis of Saturn points toward the
Sun.
Conversely, when
Saturn's spin axis points to the side, an
equinox occurs and the
edge-on rings are
hard to see from not only the Sun -- but Earth.
In the featured montage,
images of Saturn
between the years of 2004 and 2015 have been superposed to show the
giant planet
passing from southern summer toward northern summer.
Saturn was as
close as it can get to planet Earth last month, and
this month the ringed giant is still
bright
and visible
throughout much of the night
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Saturn - Saturn rings
Publications with words: Saturn - Saturn rings
See also: