Hubble showed how the rings of Saturn began to change

New images of Saturn taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope show the start of the 'season'

spokes" of the planet. At this time, mysterious stripes appear on her rings. The reason for the appearance of the “spokes,” as well as their seasonal variability, has yet to be explained by planetary scientists.

Like the Earth, Saturn is tilted relative to itsaxis and therefore it also has four seasons, although due to the giant planet's much larger orbit a season lasts approximately seven Earth years. An equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on towards the Sun.

As the autumnal equinox approaches in Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent.

Perhaps the "spokes" appear due to variablemagnetic field of the planet. They interact with the solar wind, creating an electrically charged environment. On Earth, when these charged particles enter the atmosphere, auroras appear. Scientists believe that the smallest particles in the ice rings can also become charged, which temporarily lifts them above the rest of the larger ice particles and boulders in the rings.

Ring spokes were first discovered by NASA's Voyager mission in the early 1980s. Temporary, cryptic features may appear dark or light depending on lighting and viewing angles.

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Cover photo: Credits: NASA, ESA, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC); Image processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)