In 2004 the bottoms of Saturn's ring were visible from Earth. In 2019, what will an Earth-based observer see? (Saturn's orbital period is 29 years.)
A) The rings will be edge-on and thus not visible.
B) The bottoms will again be visible.
C) The tops of the rings will be visible.
D) It is not possible to predict this so far in advance.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Given Saturn's orbital period of 29 years, half of this period (approximately 14.5 years) would have passed from 2004 to 2019. This means the perspective from Earth would shift from viewing the bottoms of Saturn's rings to viewing the tops.

In 2004 the Bottoms of Saturn's Ring Were Visible from Earth