Saturn's rings will "disappear" for a bit this November—here's what's up
On November 23, 2025, Saturn's famous rings will seem to vanish from view.
This happens when Earth lines up perfectly with the flat plane of the rings, making them look like a thin line—or almost invisible—from our perspective.
The last time this happened was earlier in March, but sunlight made it tough to see.
Why do Saturn's rings disappear?
This edge-on view—called a ring plane crossing—only comes around every 13 to 16 years.
At the time of the crossing, less than 1% of the rings are visible, so Saturn looks oddly bare.
If you miss it this time, you'll have to wait until 2038 for another chance.
What can you spot during the event?
If you've got a telescope (at least four inches across), you can catch faint shadows from the nearly invisible rings and get a good look at some of Saturn's coolest moons like Titan, Rhea, and Enceladus hanging nearby.
When do the rings come back?
Don't worry—the disappearing act is temporary! The rings will gradually open back up and shine bright again by late 2027.
But in the far future (think hundreds of millions of years), these icy bands will eventually fade away for good as their material falls into Saturn itself.