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Astronomical discovery: 'Super Saturn' with rings 200 times as large
CNN ^ | 28 Jan 15 | Ben Brumfield

Posted on 01/28/2015 2:55:55 PM PST by Drew68

(CNN)In 1610, after he built his telescope, Galileo Galilei first spotted enormous Saturn's gigantic rings. More than 400 years later, astronomers have in a sense dwarfed that discovery with a similar first.

Using powerful optics, they have found a much larger planet-like body, J1407b, with rings 200 times the size of Saturn's, U.S. and Dutch astronomers said.

It lies some 400 light-years away from Earth.

For decades, scientists have believed that many moons around large planets formed out of such ring systems. But this is the first one astronomers have observed aside from Saturn's, they said.

It was discovered in 2012, but a detailed analysis of its data was recently completed and published.

Dominating the sky

If J1407b were in our solar system, it would dominate Earth's nightly sky.

(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: astronomy; j1407b; lordoftherings; planet; planetlike; saturn; saturnlike; saturnrings; xplanets
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To: colorado tanker; brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; bigheadfred; KoRn; Grammy; steelyourfaith; ...

Oooh, aaaah! And that’s just the artist’s conception! Thanks colorado tanker. Extra to APoD. Have a great day, all!


21 posted on 01/29/2015 9:32:41 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: fivecatsandadog; Verginius Rufus; ExCTCitizen

Nope, the only way to have ancestors alive in 400 years is, a la Douglas Adams, an accident with a contraceptive in a time machine. And it must have happened already whether it has happened or not, just to be confusing.


22 posted on 01/29/2015 9:36:12 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: KevinDavis; annie laurie; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Mmogamer; ...
Thanks colorado tanker.
 
X-Planets
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Google news searches: exoplanet · exosolar · extrasolar ·

23 posted on 01/29/2015 9:40:24 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: Drew68

That would be so cool to see during the day!

Of course, I never like seeing ‘artist conceptions’, because they aren’t real. Just a drawn up, glorified ‘guess’. Fascinating to think about. Would LOVE to see an actual image of this planet, but it’s likely not possible with any real detail.


24 posted on 01/29/2015 9:41:21 AM PST by KoRn (Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
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To: chajin

Be interesting to know if that planet has an Hexagonal formation in the clouds at it’s poles.


25 posted on 01/29/2015 9:49:15 AM PST by MHGinTN (Is it really all relative, Mister Einstein?)
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To: SunkenCiv

I remember an edition of the Weekly World News back in the late 1970s or early 1980s, blazing headline: “Secret UFO Base on Saturn’s Moon.” It came with an artist’s conception of what the Secret UFO Base looked like.

Even though if it were really a secret, we wouldn’t know it was there...

Even though at the time neither of the Voyager spacecraft had gotten there yet...

But an artist could come up with a conception of what such a base must surely look like. I’ve been leery of artist’s conceptions since then.


26 posted on 01/29/2015 10:48:44 AM PST by henkster (Do I really need a sarcasm tag?)
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To: MHGinTN
Be interesting to know if that planet has an Hexagonal formation in the clouds at it’s poles.

Should do.....
That is where the hex wrench goes to fasten it down to the cosmic frame work.

27 posted on 01/29/2015 4:48:21 PM PST by moose07 (The Camels have reached the parking lot. Shields up!)
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To: chajin
Which means we are seeing what was happening when Galileo was doing his thing looking at Saturn. Which also means it may or may not still be there; probably is, but we won't know for another 400 years, by which time it may or may not still be there, but we won't know...

That IS the funniest post that I have read all day! Good job.

28 posted on 01/29/2015 5:50:56 PM PST by houeto (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate)
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To: KoRn
That would be so cool to see during the day!

Of course, I never like seeing ‘artist conceptions’, because they aren’t real. Just a drawn up, glorified ‘guess’. Fascinating to think about.

This short youtube video is kinda cool:

A visit from Saturn: What if Saturn flew past the Earth

29 posted on 01/29/2015 6:06:37 PM PST by Drew68
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