Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Sun Sep 19 2021 00:19:16

                        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.

                              2021 September 19

                         Rings and Seasons of Saturn
                 Image Credit & Copyright: Damian Peach/SEN

   Explanation: On Saturn, the rings tell you the season. On Earth,
   Wednesday 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 2004 and 2015 have been superposed to show the giant planet passing
   from southern summer toward northern summer. Saturn was as close as it
   can get to planet Earth last month, and this month the ringed giant is
   still bright and visible throughout much of the night

                    Tomorrow's picture: dark nebula 1251
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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