Moon creates "giant snowballs" in Saturn's rings
Posted: Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 6:42 AM ET (1042 GMT)
Scientists have spotted giant "snowballs" of icy materials in the rings of Saturn created by the gravity of a passing moon. Observations by NASA's Cassini spacecraft show clumps of material forming in the planet's F ring, creating objects as large as 20 kilometers in diameter. The objects, scientists said, are created by gravitational disturbances from the moon Prometheus, one of two "shepherding" moons that keeps the narrow ring in place. Many of these objects break apart in a matter of months, but some can escape, scientists said; this may explain a small moon discovered in 2004 that intersects the ring at times, creating debris.
Scientists have spotted giant "snowballs" of icy materials in the rings of Saturn created by the gravity of a passing moon. Observations by NASA's Cassini spacecraft show clumps of material forming in the planet's F ring, creating objects as large as 20 kilometers in diameter. The objects, scientists said, are created by gravitational disturbances from the moon Prometheus, one of two "shepherding" moons that keeps the narrow ring in place. Many of these objects break apart in a matter of months, but some can escape, scientists said; this may explain a small moon discovered in 2004 that intersects the ring at times, creating debris.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
NASA to launch Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in September
Posted: Sat, Apr 25 10:54 AM ET (1454 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, April 26
OCCAM Space and The Exploration Company Partner on Separation System for Nyx Capsule
Occam Space — 11:55 am ET (1555 GMT) New simulations reveal the cold, dusty reality of galaxy formation
Netherlands Research School for Astronomy — 11:55 am ET (1555 GMT) MDA Space unveils space control platform MDA Midnight™, designed to defend and protect the space domain
PR Newswire — 11:54 am ET (1554 GMT) Voyager Unlocks Satellite Propulsion Production at Scale
Voyager Space — 11:53 am ET (1553 GMT) Sceye Completes Historic 12-Day, 6,400 Mile Stratospheric Flight, Advancing a New Layer of Infrastructure for Humanity
PR Newswire — 11:51 am ET (1551 GMT) |
