Hubble image archive
Saturn's Rings Viewed from Earth
As Saturn travels around its orbit, Hubble sees a different view of the tilted rings from a position near Earth. The rings nearly disappear twice during Saturn's approximately 30-year orbit, because we see them edge on and they are extremely thin relative to their diameter. Cred...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2009
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2009-12-2511-image
As Saturn travels around its orbit, Hubble sees a different view of the tilted rings from a position near Earth. The rings nearly disappear twice during Saturn's approximately 30-year orbit, because we see them edge on and they are extremely thin relative to their diameter.
Credits
Illustration: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI);Photo: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA);
Acknowledgment: M.H. Wong (STScI/UC Berkeley) and C. Go (Philippines)
Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Saturn |
| Object Description | Planet with Satellites |
| Distance | The semi-major axis of Saturn's orbit about the sun is 9.5 astronomical units (A.U.) or roughly 1.4 billion km. |
| Dimensions | The planet (without rings) has a diameter of roughly 75,000 miles (120,000 km) at the equator. |
More Images From This Period
Downloads
Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov