土星的季节
(原标题: A Season of Saturn)
2023-08-25
浏览次数: 16
8月27日，土星将在2023年对日，在地球的天空中与太阳相对。虽然这使得这颗距太阳第六远的行星处于最亮的位置，但它美丽的光环系统是肉眼无法看到的。尽管如此，这张间隔一年的六张望远镜图像序列显示了从内行星地球上看到的土星和土星环。这颗气态巨行星的环平面从2018年的最开放状态倾斜到2023年的接近侧面（从上到下）。对于土星的北半球来说，这是夏天到接近秋分的时间。在这些清晰的行星图像中，2018年土星的北六边形和一个巨大的风暴系统清晰可见。2023年，冰卫星特提斯将凌日，在南半球的云带上投下阴影，而土星寒冷的蓝色南极将从近十年的冬季黑暗中显现出来。
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Ringed planet Saturn will be at its 2023 opposition, opposite the Sun in Earth's skies, on August 27. While that puts the sixth planet from the Sun at its brightest and well-placed for viewing, its beautiful ring system isn't visible to the unaided eye. Still, this sequence of six telescopic images taken a year apart follows both Saturn and rings as seen from inner planet Earth. The gas giant's ring plane tilts from most open in 2018 to approaching edge-on in 2023 (top to bottom). That's summer to nearly the autumn equinox for Saturn's northern hemisphere. In the sharp planetary portraits Saturn's northern hexagon and a large storm system are clearly visible in 2018. In 2023 ice moon Tethys is transiting, casting its shadow across southern hemisphere cloud bands while Saturn's cold blue south pole is emerging from almost a decade of winter darkness.
© Andy Casely