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What's New: December 2008: Going, Going, Gone
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2001 December: Saturn's famous rings maintain a constant orientation in space, but as the planet moves around the Sun on its 29-1/2-year orbit, we get to see alternate sides of the rings. For the past 14 years or so, we've been seeing the South side of the rings, with a tilt that reached its maximum around 2001, as seen in the image above. (click to enlarge)*
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2008 December: This month, the south side of the rings is tilted toward us at an angle of less than a degree. (click to enlarge)*
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2009 September: In September of 2009, Earth will pass through the plane of Saturn's rings. Though the ring system visible from Earth has a diameter of over 280,000 km, the rings are well under a kilometer thick. Turned edge-on, they vanish to all but the largest telescopes on Earth. (click to enlarge)*
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2017 October: After the ring-plane crossing next summer, we will once again be treated to a view of the north side of the rings, which will reach its maximum inclination in 2017. (click to enlarge)*
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