[masraum]

Originally Posted by Fast Freddy 944

I got lucky a year or so back. Saturn was in view, and I had a cool older Jason Telescope to check it out. The real cool thing was Saturn's ring was tilted at an angle, just like the planet was saying "I got this man, been here for a long time" It was cool as hell. It might have been near Jupiter, can't remember. Very spacy!

Jupiter and it's moons and storms, and especially Saturn and it's rings and moons are always always pretty breathtaking to most folks. I've heard stories when there are astronomy outreach gatherings where folks have thought that the views of Saturn and its rings were being faked and looked in the end of the tube expecting to see a photo.

You got lucky. Saturn's tilt changes in our perspective with a full cycle taking, I think, 30 years. I think we are currently at maximum tilt. If we are at max tilt (27º), then in 15 years, the rings will be edge on.

One of the benefits of having the rings at or closer to their max angle is that you can see the "cassini division" which is the biggest gap in the rings.