spacetoday.net: Cassini images show potential formation of new moon of Saturn

Posted: Wed, Apr 16, 2014, 6:41 AM ET (1041 GMT)
Cassini image of Peggy moonlet (NASA)

Images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft show what scientists believe may be the formation of a tiny new moon on the edge of the Saturn's rings. The images, taken last April, show a disturbance on the edge of the planet's outermost ring and protuberances that scientists believe is caused by the formation of a moon no more than a kilometer across. The object, informally nicknamed "Peggy", could also be breaking apart. Cassini is expected to make more observations of the object in 2016 when it moves closer to the rings in the final phases of its mission. Scientists believe studies of the object should provide new insights into the formation of other icy moons orbiting Saturn and the evolution of the planet's ring system. Scientists reported the discovery of the object in a paper published in the latest issue of the journal Icarus.