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The Rings of Saturn

The Rings of Saturn. First Observations. 1610 – Galileo Galilei first observed Saturn and thought that the rings were moons on the two sides of the planet.

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The Rings of Saturn

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  1. The Rings of Saturn

  2. First Observations 1610 – Galileo Galilei first observed Saturn and thought that the rings were moons on the two sides of the planet. “I have observed the highest planet [Saturn] to be triple-bodied. This is to say that to my very great amazement Saturn was seen to me to be not a single star, but three together, which almost touch each other.” Galileo Galilei 1612 – Galileo was amazed to see that the rings had disappeared. He did not know that the rings were edge on when the Earth passed through the plane of Saturn’s rings. 1616 – In 1616, Galileo observed the rings as two half ellipses with little triangles in the middle.

  3. 1655 – Christann Huyges proposed that Saturn was surrounded by a solid, thin, flat ring, nowhere touching, and inclined to the ecliptic.1800s – It was discovered that the rings were made out of small particles rather than being solid. 1979 – Pioneer 11 became the first spacecraft to fly past Saturn and take pictures of the planet and rings. 1980-81 – Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 flew past the planet and took numerous high-resolution images of Saturn and its rings.

  4. Origin • Astronomers once thought that Saturn's rings formed when Saturn did some 4.8 billion years ago. But the rings cannot be so old. The fact that they're bright suggests they're young – several hundreds of million years old. • Two theories that explain the origin of Saturn’s rings: • A comet flew too close to Saturn and tidal forces broke it into pieces. • One of Saturn's moons was struck by an asteroid smashing it into pieces.

  5. The Ring System • Saturn's ring system is divided up into 7 major divisions – from the innermost to the outermost: D, C, B, A, F, G and E. • The Cassini Division lies between the rings A and B. • The Encke Division lies between the rings A and F. • The rings are 250,000 km in diameter and 20 m in thickness.

  6. Composition • Saturn’s rings are made of chunks of icy material, contaminated with a small amount of dust.  • The sizes of the particles vary: • Microscopic particles in the E and D rings • Sand- and pebble-sized particles in the C and F rings • Cobble- and boulder-sized particles in the A and B rings • Some particles in the B ring could be tens of meters across.

  7. Future of the Rings • Scientists believe that Saturn will lose its rings eventually. They will: • either be sucked into the planet because of its gravitational pull • or will be thrown out into the space. • But it won’t happen within the next 50 million years.

  8. Bibliography “Saturn,” http://www.solarviews.com/eng/saturn.htm “Saturn’s Magnificent Rings,” http://www.solarviews.com/eng/saturnrings.htm “Space Topics: Saturn,” http://www.planetary.org/explore/topics/saturn/rings.html “The Real Lord of the Rings,” http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/12feb_rings.htm “Historical Background of Saturn’s Rings,” http://www.solarviews.com/eng/saturnbg.htm “Rings of Saturn,” http://members.aol.com/bobalien99/satring.htm

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