[Quark (Trevor)]

Hi All,
Seems to be some confusion regarding how often Saturn’s rings appear edge on.
Saturn’s polar axis is inclined 26.73 degrees to its orbital plane. It has an orbital period of 29.37 Earth years. Saturn maintains its inclination for its entire orbit, thus twice per orbit the rings will appear edge on and twice per orbit the rings will open to 26.73 degrees. The only variation with the two maximum ring openings is that in one instance Saturn’s North Pole will be tilted toward the Sun while in the second instance Saturn’s South Pole will be tilted toward the Sun.
Therefore from edge on to edge on will be 14.68 Earth years and the rings will go from wide open to wide open 26.73 degrees in 14.68 Earth years.
Only when the rings are close to edge on are the special regions at about 35 degrees North and South, dubbed “Storm Alley” both visible to Earth bound telescopes. This gives us the opportunity to discover electrical storms in both these regions which helps to advance our scientific understanding of the processes at work within the atmosphere of Saturn.
Regards
Trevor