Clumps found in Saturn's rings
Posted: Wed, May 23, 2007, 1:49 PM ET (1749 GMT)
Scientists working with data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have concluded that one of Saturn's major rings is composed of clumps of material rather than a more uniform distribution of smaller objects. Planetary scientists used a series of stellar occultations, where the rings passed in front of a star, to perform a "CAT scan" of the rings, analyzing the distribution of particles within them. They found that one ring, the B ring, contains tightly-packed clumps of material with wider spacings between the clumps than previously expected. The clumps are constantly forming and being town apart by Saturn's gravity, often colliding with one another. This clumpiness may mean that Saturn's rings have two to three times as massive as previously thought.
Scientists working with data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have concluded that one of Saturn's major rings is composed of clumps of material rather than a more uniform distribution of smaller objects. Planetary scientists used a series of stellar occultations, where the rings passed in front of a star, to perform a "CAT scan" of the rings, analyzing the distribution of particles within them. They found that one ring, the B ring, contains tightly-packed clumps of material with wider spacings between the clumps than previously expected. The clumps are constantly forming and being town apart by Saturn's gravity, often colliding with one another. This clumpiness may mean that Saturn's rings have two to three times as massive as previously thought.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, June 11
Boosting European leadership in in-space operations and services
ESA — 6:40 am ET (1040 GMT) Estonian municipalities test Starlink to bolster crisis readiness
ERR — 6:39 am ET (1039 GMT) Starlink mission set to go Thursday morning from Vandenberg Space Force Base
Lompoc Record — 6:37 am ET (1037 GMT) Rural Americans flocked to Elon Musk’s Starlink. Now some feel trapped.
Washington Post — 6:36 am ET (1036 GMT) India’s satellite broadband crackdown: Three operators, one bottleneck, no launch date
Communications Today — 6:35 am ET (1035 GMT) |
