BitsyLon
October 8th, 2009, 06:44 AM
Giant ring around Saturn discovered by NASA telescope
By The Associated Press
October 07, 2009, 2:15PM
The Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered the biggest but never-before-seen ring around the planet Saturn, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced late Tuesday.
The thin array of ice and dust particles lies at the far reaches of the Saturnian system and its orbit is tilted 27 degrees from the planet's main ring plane, the laboratory said.
JPL spokeswoman Whitney Clavin said the ring is very diffuse and doesn't reflect much visible light but the infrared Spitzer telescope was able to detect it.
Although the ring dust is very cold -- minus 316 degrees Fahrenheit -- it shines with thermal radiation.
No one had looked at its location with an infrared instrument until now, Clavin said.
The bulk of the ring material starts about 3.7 million miles from the planet and extends outward about another 7.4 million miles.
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HMMMMMMMMM ..... if it's tilted by 27 degrees from the rest of the rings, and going in the opposite direction than the others ..... Is it really a ring - or should it be classified as a "ringatoid"?
By The Associated Press
October 07, 2009, 2:15PM
The Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered the biggest but never-before-seen ring around the planet Saturn, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced late Tuesday.
The thin array of ice and dust particles lies at the far reaches of the Saturnian system and its orbit is tilted 27 degrees from the planet's main ring plane, the laboratory said.
JPL spokeswoman Whitney Clavin said the ring is very diffuse and doesn't reflect much visible light but the infrared Spitzer telescope was able to detect it.
Although the ring dust is very cold -- minus 316 degrees Fahrenheit -- it shines with thermal radiation.
No one had looked at its location with an infrared instrument until now, Clavin said.
The bulk of the ring material starts about 3.7 million miles from the planet and extends outward about another 7.4 million miles.
------------------------------------------------------------------
HMMMMMMMMM ..... if it's tilted by 27 degrees from the rest of the rings, and going in the opposite direction than the others ..... Is it really a ring - or should it be classified as a "ringatoid"?