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Changes in Saturn Rings Puzzle Scientists
AP/MyWay.com ^
| September 6, 2005
| Alicia Chang
Posted on 09/06/2005 2:14:47 PM PDT by siunevada
LOS ANGELES (AP) - New observations by the international Cassini spacecraft reveal that Saturn's trademark shimmering rings, which have dazzled astronomers since Galileo's time, have dramatically changed over just the past 25 years.
Among the most surprising findings is that parts of Saturn's innermost ring - the D ring - have grown dimmer since the Voyager spacecraft flew by the planet in 1981, and a piece of the D ring has moved 125 miles inward toward Saturn.
While scientists puzzle over what caused the changes, their observations could reveal something about the age and lifetime of the rings.
Cassini-related discoveries were discussed Monday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society's division of planetary sciences in Cambridge, England.
"I don't think Saturn's rings will disappear anytime soon, but this tells us how the rings are evolving and how long they might last, " deputy project scientist Linda Spilker said in a telephone interview from England.
Scientists are interested in Saturn's rings because they are a model of the disk of gas and dust that initially surrounded the sun. Studying them could yield important clues about how the planets formed from that disc 4.5 billion years ago.
The ring observations were made this summer. The $3.3 billion Cassini mission, funded by NASA and the European and Italian space agencies, was launched in 1997. Cassini is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: ageofsaturnsmoons; astronomy; cassinni; moons; planets; rings; saturn; science
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That Bush! He's wreaking havoc everywhere!
1
posted on
09/06/2005 2:14:48 PM PDT
by
siunevada
To: siunevada
No, it's global warming. Bush caused global warming and global warming caused Saturn's rings to collapse around Uranus.
To: siunevada
That, and the eeeeeeeevil SUV's...
3
posted on
09/06/2005 2:16:04 PM PDT
by
null and void
(Does my life *really* need a sarcasm tag????)
To: siunevada
The Runaway Greenhouse Effect is destroying Saturn!
4
posted on
09/06/2005 2:16:13 PM PDT
by
muawiyah
(/ hey coach do I gotta' put in that "/sarcasm " thing again?)
To: Lunkhead_01
5
posted on
09/06/2005 2:16:29 PM PDT
by
null and void
(Does my life *really* need a sarcasm tag????)
To: siunevada
Gee, maybe planets change all the time... including their climates?
Do ya' think?
6
posted on
09/06/2005 2:17:12 PM PDT
by
E. Pluribus Unum
(Islam Factoid:After forcing young girls to watch his men execute their fathers, Muhammad raped them.)
To: siunevada
7
posted on
09/06/2005 2:17:59 PM PDT
by
evolved_rage
(Waiting for Hitlery to puke up a headline on Katrina.)
To: Lunkhead_01
No, it's global warming. Bush caused global warming and global warming caused Saturn's rings to collapse around Uranus. No one wants to see rings around Uranus.
8
posted on
09/06/2005 2:18:26 PM PDT
by
Egon
(By the way, I took the liberty of fertilizing your caviar.)
To: siunevada
Part of Dick Cheney's master plan to get Halliburton the contract to rebuild the rings.
9
posted on
09/06/2005 2:19:13 PM PDT
by
KarlInOhio
(We need a strict constructionist - not someone who plays shadow puppet theatre with the Constitution)
Comment #10 Removed by Moderator
Dang, as soon as you get used to something...
... they change it!
11
posted on
09/06/2005 2:19:27 PM PDT
by
evets
(God bless president Bush!)
To: siunevada
It's that awful Carl Rove seeking to upset the delicate astrological balance so that Republicans continue to get elected despite the MSM's best efforts to spread the truth.
12
posted on
09/06/2005 2:19:28 PM PDT
by
Buzwardo
To: E. Pluribus Unum
it's the new whisk advertising campaign.
13
posted on
09/06/2005 2:19:42 PM PDT
by
pipecorp
(Let's have a CRUSADE! , the muslims have already started. 1600 replies and not a single post!)
To: Lunkhead_01
global warming caused Saturn's rings to collapse around Uranus.No personal cracks. Read the rules. We're gonna get in trouble with the Moderator.
To: siunevada
Halliburton's mining the rings.
To: Egon
No one wants to see rings around Uranus.Bit of bad luck, then:
16
posted on
09/06/2005 2:21:03 PM PDT
by
Maceman
(Pro Se Defendant from Hell)
To: siunevada
Didja have to write "cracks"?
17
posted on
09/06/2005 2:21:19 PM PDT
by
Frank_Discussion
(May the wings of Liberty never lose a feather!)
To: siunevada
Bush doesn't care about all those poor rings.
18
posted on
09/06/2005 2:21:26 PM PDT
by
AFreeBird
(your mileage may vary)
To: AFreeBird
It does look like some rather BLACK rings, after all...
19
posted on
09/06/2005 2:22:17 PM PDT
by
Frank_Discussion
(May the wings of Liberty never lose a feather!)
To: siunevada
Bandwagon time: "It's BUSH! No, SUV's!, No, GLOBAL WARNING! No, KARL ROVE! No, GAY BASHING! No, IT'S THE WAR IN IRAQ!, No, ... IT'S ALL OF IT!!! BUSH IS DESTROYING THE UNIVERSE!!! </done>
20
posted on
09/06/2005 2:22:27 PM PDT
by
manwiththehands
(If the Left offends you, stick around. They are just getting started.)
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