SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Saturn has seemingly lost its rings, but do not to fret, it will get them back.
Now, Saturn is classically characterized as the planet in the solar system with those rings made of ice and rocks, but if you look at the night sky you might notice that they don’t appear to be around the planet.
That is all due to the tilt of Saturn and its location relative to Earth.
Much like Earth's axis is tilted, Saturn’s is as well, around 17 degrees so there are times twice every orbit, that the tilt of the planet, and the rings with it align just perfectly, that it is almost impossible to see the rings from Earth.
This happens around every 15 years so the rings will be gradually growing until 2032, likely in July where they will reach their peak, then start to shrink again until 2039 where they will be invisible once more.
In the break of the clouds you can see some stars, maybe more than you would be able to see in the summer.
This is due to how much moisture the air can hold. In the summer, we all know and can feel that warm air can hold more moisture.
Not only does the moisture in the air annoy us with the humidity levels, but the moisture can also cause a general haze in the sky, it’s not super noticeable, but it’s why the blue sky can appear lighter in the summer as well.
This haze can obscure some of the light coming from the stars, especially dimmer ones, so even on the clearest night in the darkest place you know, you won’t have as clear a view as you would in the winter.
A colder temperature means less moisture, which means less haze, but it does mean more layers for stargazers in the winter.