Creating a model to Predict Hubble’s View of Saturn

The Trigonometry

Assuming that the rings are perfectly circular then they are as high as they are wide. But the apparent height [OPU1] of them will change as Hubble sees Saturn from different angles.

If Hubble looks at Saturn in the same plane as the rings then they would appear to have no height.

If Hubble were to look at Saturn from directly below then the rings would appear to have a height equal to their width.

So the apparent height of the rings varies with the angle that Saturn is viewed from. We can therefore calculate the angle that Saturn is observed from the apparent height of the rings.

Click on the presentation below and imagine looking side on from how Hubble sees Saturn.

So the angle at which Saturn is tilted varies in a sinusoidal pattern, like a sine curve, see below.

We can now adjust this curve to match our data and use this to predict Hubble’s view of Saturn.

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[OPU1] [OPU1] Apparent height is the height that they seem to be from Hubble’s viewpoint. The rings are circular but because of the angle that Hubble looks at them they appear elliptical.