                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2023 August 25

                             A Season of Saturn
                    Image Credit & Copyright: Andy Casely

   Explanation: Ringed planet Saturn will be at its 2023 opposition,
   opposite the Sun in Earth's skies, on August 27. While that puts the
   sixth planet from the Sun at its brightest and well-placed for viewing,
   its beautiful ring system isn't visible to the unaided eye. Still, this
   sequence of telescopic images taken a year apart over the last six
   years follows both Saturn and rings as seen from inner planet Earth.
   The gas giant's ring plane tilts from most open in 2018 to approaching
   edge-on in 2023 (top to bottom). That's summer to nearly the autumn
   equinox for Saturn's northern hemisphere. In the sharp planetary
   portraits, Saturn's northern hexagon and a large storm system are
   clearly visible in 2018. In 2023, ice moon Tethys is transiting,
   casting its shadow across southern hemisphere cloud bands, while
   Saturn's cold blue south pole is emerging from almost a decade of
   winter darkness.

                     Tomorrow's picture: phases of Venus
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

