Equinox at Saturn
			
		
		
			Image Credit & Copyright:  
Imran Sultan
		
		
			On Saturn, the rings tell you the season. 
On Earth, today marks an equinox, the time when the 
Earth's equator tilts directly toward the Sun. 
Since 
Saturn's grand rings 
orbit along the planet's equator, 
these rings appear most prominent -- 
from the direction of the Sun -- when the spin axis of 
Saturn points toward the 
Sun. 
Conversely, when 
Saturn's 
spin axis points to the side, an equinox occurs, 
and the edge-on rings are hard to see from not only the Sun -- but 
Earth. 
In the 
featured montage, images of Saturn between the years of 
2020 and 2025 
have been superposed to show the giant planet passing, 
with this year's equinox, from summer in the north to summer in the south. 
Yesterday, Saturn was coincidently about 
as close as it gets to planet Earth, 
and so this month the 
ringed giant's orb is relatively bright and 
visible throughout the night.