The rings of Saturn, that is. Saturn orbits the Sun in about 29 1/2 years and as it does, we see the rings in different orientations. I’ve only been taking photos of Saturn for a few years buts it’s interesting that I can notice the change. Here’s a photo form September 22 of 2023
While perhaps not my best shot of the ringed planet, it is notable that the rings are not as open as in previous years and it was quite striking upon my first view of the planet this summer.
I went back to the past three years and created a composite. It’s an interesting phenomenon to see in this neophyte astronomers photos. Sadly, the rings are closing up from our vantage point and in fact, they will be nearly edge-on in 2025 and almost disappear.
So take that orbital period and divide by two…in roughly one half orbit we see the northern hemisphere and in the other, we see the rings from below in the southern hemisphere. Somewhere in the middle we get the edge-on view, so catch those rings while you can! They’ll start opening up again 2026.
The Neophyte Astronomer 