Saturn Rings Will Shine Brighter As It Comes Close To Earth

Saturn's rings will be shining even brighter this month. The planet will rise opposite to the Sun when seen from Earth's sky. The position will give the stargazers the best view of the Saturn and its moons, according to NASA.

The planet will be visible to the naked eye, but it will require a telescope to see the planet's rings, according to EarthSky.org. When Earth passes between the sun and a planet, the other planet "is generally closest to Earth and brightest for that year," EarthSky notes.

This time around, the Sun, Saturn, and Earth will come in a straight line, with our planet being in the center. Saturn can be seen in the southeast in the "teapot" of the Sagittarius constellation.

It will be visible all night and will reach its highest point during midnight. The positioning will also offer close views of Saturn during July, August, and September.

Besides, NASA is planning to send a drone called Dragonfly to Saturn's biggest moon, Titan, the agency said while announcing its latest mission to explore the solar system to understand the origin of humans.

Dragonfly will be a golf-cart-sized drone featuring four propellers. It will embark on an eight-year-long journey in 2026. Its prime target is Titan, Saturn's moon, which is also said to have similarities with our planet.

The drone will also be the first drone lander that is capable of flying over 100 miles through Titan's thick atmosphere, Bridenstine said. "Titan is unlike any other place in our solar system, and the most comparable to early Earth," he added.

Previously, NASA's Cassini probe managed to determine that a day on Saturn is 10 hours, 33 minutes and 38 seconds. The previous estimate was 10 hours 39 minutes and 23 seconds, which was based on the data sent by Voyager.