Black hole will cross through Saturn, but it is not a cosmic giant. Here is what it actually is

A black hole will shoot across the surface of Saturn in the coming days, and this is your only chance to see it for the next 15 years. The black hole has already transited three times, and it will do so 10 more times before the occurrence fades out. This is because of the way Saturn and Earth are aligned right now. The gas giant's rings are facing Earth at the moment, and the giant hole is nothing but the shadow of its largest moon, Titan. This is similar to how the moon casts a shadow on Earth during an eclipse. With the current alignment, this has already happened thrice and will continue to happen for a few more weeks, with a gap of 16 days.

Titan orbits Saturn every 16 days, and the perfect alignment with Earth at the moment means that Titan's shadow will be clearly visible to humans. The last transit happened on June 16, and the next one is due on July 2. The other dates to see Titan cast a shadow are - July 2, July 18, Aug. 3, Aug. 19, Sept. 4, Sept. 20 and Oct. 6, according to Sky & Telescope. How clear the view is will depend on the weather in your location. The timings will also vary depending on the region. Besides Titan's shadow, you can also take a sneak peek at Titan itself as it orbits around Saturn. Titan's position will change with each orbit, and the shadow will be larger than the moon itself.

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How to watch the black hole over Saturn?

To get the best view, experts suggest getting an early look and not waiting till the last date. The length of the transit will continue to reduce with each orbit, so you might want to watch it at the earliest date possible. A good telescope with at least 200x magnification is recommended to bag a nice view of Titan and its shadow. On July 2, the transition will last a total of 323 minutes. It will gradually reduce, with the next viewing on July 18 lasting 305 minutes.

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The next one will be 279 minutes, then 248, 205, 145 and the last one in October will only last about a minute, Live Science reported.

How long will Titan remain visible?

Even though Titan's shadow will remain visible till October 6, the moon itself can be viewed from Earth till January 2026. After this transition ends, the next one isn't due until 2040. The Saturn-Earth alignment would have changed by this time, and so neither Titan nor its shadow will be visible.

About Titan

Titan is the only moon other than Earth's moon where a human-made probe has landed. In 2005, the European Space Agency's Huygens probe landed there to explore the solar system's second-largest moon. The largest moon is Jupiter's mammoth Ganymede. Huygens was launched in 1997 and separated from the Cassini orbiter on 25 December 2004, and landed on Titan on 14 January 2005. It continued to send data for 90 minutes after landing near what appeared to be a shore.