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                           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.   
      
                                 2025 September 22   
       The planet Saturn is pictured 6 times in a horizonal column, labelled   
        by years with 2020 at the top and 2025 at the bottom. As the years   
           progress, Saturn's ring appear less prominent. Please see the   
                    explanation for more detailed information.   
      
                                 Equinox at Saturn   
                      Image Credit & Copyright: Imran Sultan   
      
      Explanation: 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.   
      
                  Tomorrow's picture: cathedral to massive stars   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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