Saturn Surprise: Ring is Actually a Spiral
Saturn's F ring consists of several strands, some of which are barely visible.
This is a view captured by the Cassini spacecraft on Nov. 15, 2004.
Image source: MSNBC / NASA / SSI
This is a view captured by the Cassini spacecraft on Nov. 15, 2004.
Image source: MSNBC / NASA / SSI
A Space.com article by Robert Roy Brit, via MSNBC, reports that:
Ever since Voyager 1 returned detailed images of Saturn's F ring back in 1980, astronomers have struggled to understand its bizarre features.
The F ring, an outer thin wisp of icy material orbiting the giant planet, was discovered in 1979. It's been described as having clumps, strands and braids by various research groups.
An animation released last December showed the features, described as kinks, moving through time.
Turns out none of these descriptions was right, according to a new study using data and images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft and led by Sebastien Charnoz at the University of Paris.
posted by Fergie @ 11/28/2005 12:52:00 PM
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