Saturn Rings - The count down for extinction
The rings of Saturn are the most extensive ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging from μm to m in size, that orbit about Saturn. The ring particles are made almost entirely of water ice, with a trace component of rocky material.
Although reflection from the rings increases Saturn's brightness, they are not visible from Earth with unaided vision.
4. Did you know
Italian scientist Galileo Galilei first discovered the rings of Saturn while looking through the newly invented telescope in 1610.
Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets. Part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, Voyager 1, on a trajectory that took longer to reach Jupiter and Saturn but enabled further encounters with Uranus and Neptune.
3. Saturn rings
2. Facts
Saturn is the second largest planet and is best known for its fabulous ring system.
Saturn has four main groups of rings and three fainter, narrower ring groups. These groups are separated by gaps called divisions.
Saturn is a gas giant and is composed of similar gasses including hydrogen, helium and methane.
It is the fifth brightest object in the solar system and is also easily studied through binoculars or a small telescope.
Saturn’s upper atmosphere is divided into bands of clouds.
The top layers are mostly ammonia ice. Below them, the clouds are largely water ice. Below are layers of cold hydrogen and sulfur ice mixtures.
1. Reason for the disappearance of Saturn Ring's
we're experiencing a "ring plane crossing." As Saturn goes around the sun, it periodically turns its rings edge-on to Earth—once every 14-to-15 years. Because the rings are so thin, they can actually disappear when viewed through a small telescope.
In the months ahead, Saturn's rings will become thinner and thinner until, on Sept. 4, 2009, they vanish. When this happened to Galileo in 1612, he briefly abandoned his study of the planet. Big mistake: ring plane crossings are good times to discover new Saturnian moons and faint outer rings.