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Saturn from Earth, 2004 to 2015

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Deborah Byrd

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September 26, 2021

12 views of Saturn with rings wide, narrow, edge-on, and then widening again.. — View larger. | This beautiful montage of Saturn from Earth is from Damian Peach. It was the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) on September 19, 2021. It shows the changing tilt of Saturn’s rings as viewed from Earth between 2004 and 2015. We see this perpetual change – sometimes the north face of the rings, sometimes the south face – over a cycle of about 15 years. Here, Saturn is going from its southern summer toward its northern summer. Notice that, sometimes, we see the rings edge-on. We just passed Saturn (in August) in our smaller orbit around the sun. So it’s up in the evening now, near very bright Jupiter, both of them extremely noticeable. Visit EarthSky’s planet guide. Montage used with permission. Thank you, Damian!

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September 26, 2021

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Deborah Byrd

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Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.