Saturn’s iconic rings are on the verge of becoming undetectable.

While they won’t vanish forever — that won’t occur for hundreds of millions of years — ground-based astronomers and skywatchers will face a brief period where they can’t see the gas giant’s seven rings.

This phenomenon happens about every 13 to 15 years when Saturn, the second largest planet in the solar system after Jupiter, aligns in such a way that its rings edge directly faces Earth. This alignment leads to a temporary disappearance of the rings.

However, there’s good news: these rings, believed to be remnants from space bodies such as asteroids and comets, will eventually be visible again from our planet.

Here’s everything you need to know regarding the timing and reasons behind the periodic disappearance of Saturn’s rings, as well as when they will reappear.

When will Saturn’s rings vanish?

Recently, observers have noted that Saturn’s rings have been appearing increasingly slender through ground telescopes.

By March 2025, they will completely disappear from sight, based on information from Earth Sky, an astronomy-focused website. Although Saturn’s rings will be visible again after March 2025, they will shrink to their narrowest point once more in November, temporarily becoming invisible again.

What comprises Saturn’s rings and what causes their disappearance?

The disappearing act is essentially an optical illusion for Earth-based observers. From a spatial perspective, Saturn’s rings still exist regardless of their visibility from our planet.

Scientists theorize that Saturn acquired its rings later in its life and has managed them through a delicate balance — keeping them within the gravitational pull of the planet while counteracting their natural tendency to drift away into space.

Consisting of billions of tiny ice and rock fragments mixed with cosmic dust, Saturn’s rings stretch out for as much as 175,000 miles from the planet. However, the particles are relatively close together, with the largest gap, known as the Cassini Division, measuring merely 2,920 miles across.

The combination of the rings’ thin profile and flat structure causes them to become invisible every few years due to the shifting positions of both Saturn and Earth as they orbit the sun.

When will Saturn’s rings be visible again from Earth?

The rings will make a comeback soon, gradually approaching their widest visibility by 2032.

However, it is essential to note that one day, Saturn’s rings will truly vanish.

A 1981 observation from NASA’s Voyager 2 mission led to a 2018 study suggesting that the iconic rings are slowly being pulled into Saturn by gravity, resulting in a form of dusty rain made up of ice particles. This process will last another 300 million years before the entire system is gone.

Nonetheless, research conducted by the Cassini spacecraft revealed that the rings might disappear even sooner. It found measurable material from the rings falling into Saturn, providing astronomers a revised estimate, suggesting they could last another 100 million years.

This article has been revised for clarity.