Saturn's rings

I was up at 6 this morning getting an early season look at Saturn. The rings are edge on so no chance of any detail within the rings. Does anyone know is this what we can expect all winter/spring or will the view shift so we get a look at the rings this year? :S

You won't be seeing much of Saturn's rings for quite a while! They will continue to diminish as we approach the "ring plane crossing" on Sept. 4, 2009, at which point we will be viewing them edge-on. After that, they will slowly "open up" again, reaching their full glory in 2016.

Tim,

Saturn's rings are currently inclined by about 2 degrees.

Dave Mitsky

Tim Abbott said:

I was up at 6 this morning getting an early season look at Saturn. The rings are edge on so no chance of any detail within the rings. Does anyone know is this what we can expect all winter/spring or will the view shift so we get a look at the rings this year?

The tilt of Saturn’s ring plane from our perspective is currently -2.3°, and will decrease in absolute value for the rest of this year until it becomes -0.8° on December 31st when Saturn goes into apparent retrograde motion and the tilt then increases for a few months. Opposition from the Sun will be achieved on March 8th of next year when the ring tilt will be -2.6°. The tilt will continue to increase in absolute value to -4.1° on May 17th when the planet resumes apparent direct motion. On August 10th the Sun will pass through the ring plane, and the Earth will do so on September 4th when the ring tilt will appear to be zero. Between those last two dates we will be viewing the dark side of the rings, which will make them virtually invisible. After September 4th the tilt will increase in the positive sense and we will again be viewing the sunlit side of the rings. Saturn will conjunct with the Sun on September 17th.

Due to the short time interval between zero ring tilt and conjunction, along with the sharp angle with which the ecliptic strikes the horizon at sunset during that time of the year, it will be nearly impossible for observers north of the tropics to see Saturn when we pass throught the ring plane.

The ring plane is not actually wobbling. Our viewing perspective changes as Saturn and the Earth orbit the Sun. The primary cycle for the ring tilt coincides with Saturn’s 29.46-year orbital period around the Sun. A secondary cycle matches the 1.035-year synodic period in which the Earth laps Saturn in their race around the Sun. The next occurrence of a maximum tilt will be on 2017 OCT 16 at +27.0°.

Below are two graphics that I’ve created to illustrate the situation. The first shows our view of the rings at ten-day intervals from November 28th of this year through September 14th of next year. The second shows our view at every opposition of Saturn from 1995 through 2025.