Saturn Rings To Disappear Today In A Rare Phenomenon; Here's Why

Last Updated:March 23, 2025, 09:32 IST

These 'ring plane crossings' are rare occurrences, happening only twice during Saturn's almost 30-year orbit around the sun—roughly once every 13 to 15 years—and they only last for a day or two.

The Saturn rings will briefly disappear (Credits: NASA)

The Saturn rings will briefly “disappear" from view this weekend, March 23 at 9:34 PM IST; however, it won’t be possible for sky gazers to see the change. This is a rare phenomenon that takes place every 13-15 years.

Notably, the rings are not disappearing, but their appearance will be obscured as they align edge-on with Earth, making them nearly impossible to see.

Giving more insights about the same, Sean Walker, an associate editor at *Sky & Telescope*, a monthly magazine about science and amateur astronomy, told NBC News, “They literally almost disappear."

“Normally, you see the rings around Saturn, but when you have an edge-on view, it looks like a hair-thin line of light just cutting across," Sean said.

The reason why the Saturn rings will appear to disappear is because the planets are positioned perpendicularly, causing the rings to align precisely with Earth’s plane.

The rare event also allows Saturn’s 274 moons to become more visible, he explained. Normally, only about six of them are noticeable through a telescope.

“When we have these ring plane crossings, the light that usually reflects off Saturn’s rings is no longer glaring back toward Earth," he said. “That means you can detect a lot more of the smaller moons."

According to NASA, Saturn’s tilt is 26.73 degrees from vertical as it orbits the sun, which is similar to Earth’s tilt of 23.5 degrees.

The planet’s rings, made up of debris from comets, asteroids, and shattered moons, stretch up to 175,000 miles from Saturn. However, their vertical height is just about 30 feet, which contributes to their disappearing appearance during certain alignments, as explained by NASA.

These “ring plane crossings" are rare events, occurring only twice during Saturn’s nearly 30-year orbit around the sun—about once every 13 to 15 years—and last only one or two days.

During this weekend’s event, Saturn will be too close to the sun in the sky for astronomers in the Northern Hemisphere to easily observe. It may be more visible from the southern latitudes.

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