Scientists and even astrologers consider Saturn to be one of the most fascinating planets in our solar system. There is no second opinion to the fact that Saturn, when viewed through a powerful telescope, looks so magnificent and devine. The rings that encircle the planet give it a look that is absolutely breathtaking and one of its kind. The rings seem to be made of particles of lesser density but the scientists and astronomers have postulated a new theory that propounds that these rings are made up of heavily massed and heavily densed particles.
A joint venture performed by NASA, Italian and European Space Agency Cassini spacecraft accounted the fact that the B ring particles encompassing Saturn are in a constant colliding motion with each other and thus give a different picture of the rings as in comparison to the notion earlier. One of the key scientists who took a lead in this theory incorporating the ultraviolet imaging, Larry Esposito (University of Colorado at Boulder) opined that – “The rings are different from the picture we had in our minds, we originally thought we would see a uniform cloud of particles. Instead we find that the particles are clumped together with empty spaces in between.”
So, this relates to the fact that earlier the scientists had a different conception in regards to the Saturn’s rings. So, the theory unleashes the truth about the Saturn rings to be made up of particles that may be 2-3 times denser than the preceding theories. Renowned physicist from the University of Central Florida, Orlando, Josh Colwell, stated that the instrument incorporated by the Cassini formulated a time-honored method of measuring far-away objects. This technique is infact quite accurate and precise.
Colwell commented that - “By studying the brightness of stars as the rings pass in front of them, we are able to map the ring structure in 3-D and learn more about the shape, spacing and orientation of clusters of particles.” Addressing the newspersons from the journal Icarus the researchers opined that the gravitational forces between the ring particles are strong enough to attract particles to form clumps and “self-gravity wakes.”
They also cleared out a fact that if these particles were not strongly held back by the Saturn’s gravitational forces then they would have formed a natural satellite encircling Saturn, adding up to a couple of moons for the planet.
Via: Cnn
