Sunset hunters

Sun(set) on Saturn

The day was coming to an end. In about two minutes most of the sky would turn to black. There was so much time to observe the sunset. The sight was fantastic. Looking down from the high position the clouds below were glowing in shades of gray and yellow. One great swiveling cyclone formed in the clouds, but it was high enough that the sound of winds was subdued. In the distance the star - our sun - was shining with rather cold light. It appeared minuscule and was hastily sinking below the horizon. The whole right half of the sky was filled with unnaturally regular elliptic white strip, looking like an edge of a giant porcelan saucer, freshly taken from the pottery wheel. The saucer was ornamented with two black, sharp and perfectly elliptical lines, which extended throughout the whole sky. The sunset ended rapidly, but the giant saucer remained illuminated for another hour. It was a sunset on Saturn.

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No human ever witnessed the sunset on Saturn. It was the spacecraft Voyager 2 that recorded the sunset and sent photographs to Earth. Sunsets on Saturn nevertheless happen. They happen all the time, and as Saturn's day is only 11 hours long, they are more frequent then Earth's sunsets. There is no reason not to enjoy the sunset on Saturn. If Voyager can do it, we can do it too. So, next time when the sky in your place on Earth gets covered and you are unable to see the sun, just transport yourself (mentally, if not otherwise) 1280 million kilometers in the direction of Saturn and enjoy the spectacular view.  After all, as they say "it's all in the head", isn't it?