Saturn’s rings tagged posts

Physicists measured the flux of interplanetary dust around Saturn. The researchers concluded that the planet’s rings formed less than 400 million years ago, making them much younger than Saturn itself.

A new study led by physicist Sascha Kempf at the University of Colorado Boulder has delivered the strongest evidence yet that Saturn’s rings are remarkably young — potentially answering a question that has boggled scientists for well over a century.

The research, to be published May 12 in the journal Science Advances, pegs the age of Saturn’s rings at no more than 400 million years old. That makes the rings much younger than Saturn itself, which is about 4...

As NASA’s Cassini dove close to Saturn in its final year, the spacecraft provided intricate detail on the workings of Saturn’s complex rings, new analysis shows. Although the mission ended in 2017, science continues to flow from the data collected. A new paper published June 13 in Science describes results from four Cassini instruments taking their closest-ever observations of the main rings.

Findings include fine details of features sculpted by masses embedded within the rings...

Formation of Atlas, one of the small inner moons of Saturn. Its flat, ravioli-like shape is the result of a merging collision of two similar-sized bodies. The picture is a snapshot in mid-collision, before the moon’s reorientation due to tides is completed. Credit: A. Verdier

The small inner moons of Saturn look like giant ravioli and spaetzle. Their spectacular shape has been revealed by the Cassini spacecraft. For the first time, researchers of the University of Bern show how these moons were formed. The peculiar shapes are a natural outcome of merging collisions among similar-sized little moons as computer simulations demonstrate.

When Martin Rubin, astrophysicist at the University of Bern, saw the images of Saturn’s moons Pan and Atlas on the internet, he was puzzled...