"Cassini's Legacy: Solar Eclipses Illuminate Saturn's Rings"
Originally Published 2 years ago — by Space.com
The long-dead Cassini spacecraft, which conducted an extensive survey of Saturn and its rings before plunging into the planet's atmosphere in 2017, has shed new light on the optical depth of Saturn's rings. By analyzing data captured during solar eclipses observed by Cassini, scientists were able to measure the transparency of the rings. The study found that the maximum thickness of the rings is only one kilometer, despite extending out to 140,000 kilometers from the planet. The iconic rings are set to disappear from view from Earth by 2025 but will only be absent for a few months.