01.02.2018 21:37
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Why does Saturn have rings?
The planet Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system and the sixth farthest from the Sun. You guys are probably familiar with this planet because of the mysterious rings that surround Saturn.
What do these rings represent and why are they needed?
Now we will find out.
Saturn's rings surround the planet at the equator - that is, in the middle of the planet. Their diameter is approximately 250,000 km. Moreover, the thickness of the rings is only 1.5 km.
The rings of Saturn were first seen in a telescope by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610. But he assumed that he saw unknown bulges on the sides of the planet. The fact that Saturn has rings was suggested by the Dutch astronomer Christian Hugens, examining the planet through a more powerful telescope.
Scientists designated the largest rings by the letters A, B and C. After them, three more rings were discovered. Astronomers named them D, E and F. Today, scientists are studying Saturn using the artificial satellite Cassini. They managed to discover many more rings around this unusual planet!
Saturn's rings are made up of pieces of ice and rocks. Their size can be the size of a soccer ball, or the size of a two-story house! The sun's rays hitting the ice pebbles are reflected and an unusual glow is formed in space. That's why Saturn's rings are so bright that they can be seen in a telescope.
There is no exact answer to the question of how these rings formed. Scientists suggest that Saturn once collided with a large cosmic body. Perhaps one of his companions. Saturn was not damaged during the impact, but the other cosmic body shattered into many fragments. Now these fragments revolve around the planet thanks to the gravitational force of Saturn. There is an assumption that the rings of Saturn are fragments of its former satellite. Due to the influence of Saturn's gravitational forces, the satellite collapsed, and its fragments began to revolve around the planet. Some scientists suggest that the asteroids and pieces of ice surrounding Saturn are the remnants of a circumplanetary cloud (cosmic dust). Its outer parts became the satellites of Saturn, while the inner parts remained in the form of rings.
By the way, did you guys know that in addition to Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also have rings. But they are not so big and not so bright. They can only be seen through a very powerful telescope.
The Splendor of the Solar System
Saturn is one of the most mysterious planets for both professional astronomers and amateurs. Much of the interest in the planet comes from the distinctive rings around Saturn. Although they are not visible to the naked eye, the rings can be seen even with a weak telescope.
Saturn's mostly ice rings are held in orbit by the complex gravitational influences of the gas giant and its moons, some of which actually lie within the rings. Although people have learned a lot about rings since they were first discovered 400 years ago, this knowledge is constantly being added to (for example, the most distant ring from the planet was discovered only ten years ago).
Telescopes of the Renaissance
In 1610, the famous astronomer and "enemy of the church" Galileo Galilei was the first person to point his telescope at Saturn. He noted strange formations around the planet. But because his telescope was not powerful enough, Galileo did not realize that these were rings.
2. Billions of ice chunks
Ice and stone
Saturn's rings are made up of billions of pieces of ice and rock. The sizes of these debris range from a grain of salt to a small mountain.
3. Only five planets
Modern telescope
As you know, a person can see five planets with the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. To see Saturn's rings and not just a ball of light, you'll need a telescope with at least 20x magnification.
4. The rings are named in alphabetical order
The D ring is closest to Saturn
The rings are named in alphabetical order based on their date of discovery. The D ring is closest to the planet, and then as it moves away - the C, B, A, F, Janus / Epimetheus, G, Pallene and E rings.
5. Remains from comets and asteroids
93% of the mass of the rings is ice
Saturn's rings are believed by most scientists to be remnants from passing comets and asteroids. Scientists came to this conclusion because about 93% of the mass of the rings is ice.
6The Man Who Defined Saturn's Rings
Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens
The first person to actually see and define the rings of Saturn was Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens in 1655. At that time, he suggested that the gas giant had one hard, thin and flat ring.
7. Saturn's moon Enceladus
Ice Ring Geysers
Thanks to the geysers that abound on the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus, the icy ring E was formed. Scientists have very high hopes for this satellite, because it has oceans in which life may be hidden.
8. Rotation speed
Speed decreases with distance
Each of the rings rotates around Saturn at different speeds. The speed of rotation of the rings decreases with distance from the planet.
9. Neptune and Uranus
Saturn's rings are not unique
Although Saturn's rings are the most famous in the solar system, three other planets boast rings. We are talking about the gas giant (Jupiter) and the ice giants (Neptune and Uranus).
10. Perturbations in rings
Disturbances resemble ripples
The planet's rings may provide evidence of how comets and meteors passing through the solar system are attracted to Saturn. In 1983, astronomers discovered disturbances in the rings that resembled ripples. They believe this was caused by debris from the comet colliding with the rings.
11. Clash 1983
The orbits of the C and D rings are disrupted
A 1983 collision with a comet weighing between 100 billion and 10 trillion kilograms disrupted the orbits of the C and D rings. It is believed that the rings will "align" over hundreds of years.
12. Vertical “bumps” on the rings
Vertical formations up to 3 km
Particles inside Saturn's rings can sometimes form vertical formations. It looks like vertical "bumps" on rings about 3 km high.
13. Second after Jupiter
Saturn's rotation speed is 10 hours and 33 minutes
Apart from Jupiter, Saturn is the fastest rotating planet in the solar system - it completes a full rotation on its axis in just 10 hours and 33 minutes. Because of this speed of rotation, Saturn is more bulbous at the equator (and flattened at the poles), which further accentuates its iconic rings.
14. F Ring
Mini-satellites of the planet
Located just outside Saturn's main ring system, the narrow F ring (actually three narrow rings) appears to have curves and clumps in its structure. This led scientists to speculate that there may be mini-moons of the planet inside the ring.
15. Launch 1997
Cassini interplanetary station
In 1997, the Cassini automatic interplanetary station was launched to Saturn. Before entering orbit around the planet, the spacecraft flew between the F and G rings.
16. Tiny satellites of Saturn
Keeler and Encke gaps
Two gaps or fissures between the rings, namely the Keeler gap (35 km wide) and Encke gap (325 km wide) contain Saturn's tiny moons. It is assumed that these gaps in the rings were formed precisely due to the passage of satellites through the rings.
17. The width of Saturn's rings is enormous
Saturn's rings are very thin
Although the width of Saturn's rings is enormous (80 thousand kilometers), their thickness is comparatively very small. As a rule, it is about 10 meters and rarely reaches 1 kilometer.
18. Dark stripes running across the rings
Strange formations that look like ghosts
Strange ghost-like formations have been discovered in the rings of Saturn. These formations, which look like light and dark stripes running across the rings, are called “spokes.” Many theories have been put forward regarding their origin, but there is no consensus.
19. Rings of Saturn's moon
Saturn's moon Rhea
Saturn's second largest moon Rhea may have its own rings. They have not yet been discovered, and the existence of rings is assumed based on the fact that the Cassini probe detected the deceleration of electrons from the magnetosphere of Saturn in the vicinity of Rhea.
20. Minimal weight of rings
Appearances are deceiving
Despite the apparent huge size, the rings are actually quite “light”. More than 90% of the mass of all matter in Saturn's orbit comes from the largest of the planet's 62 moons, Titan.
21. Cassini division
Largest gap between rings
The Cassini division is the largest gap between the rings (its width is 4,700 km). It is located between the main rings B and A.
22. Pandora and Prometheus
Satellites contain the dispersion of rings in space
The gravitational force of some of Saturn's moons - especially Pandora and Prometheus - also affects the rings. Thus, they restrain the dispersion of rings in space.
23. Phoebe's Ring
The ring rotates in the opposite direction
Astronomers recently discovered a new, huge ring around Saturn, called the Phoebe ring. Located between 3.7 and 11.1 million km from the planet's surface, the new ring is tilted 27 degrees compared to the other rings and rotates in the opposite direction.
24. A billion planets like Earth can fit in the ring.
The new ring is very sparse
The new ring is so sparse that you can fly through it without noticing a single piece of debris, despite the fact that the ring could fit a billion planets like Earth. It was discovered by chance in 2009 using an infrared telescope.
25. Many of Saturn's moons are icy
Moons formed from distant rings
Due to recent discoveries made in 2014, scientists believe that at least some of Saturn's moons may have formed within the planet's rings. Since many of Saturn's moons are icy, and ice particles are a major component of the rings, it has been hypothesized that the moons formed from distant rings that pre-existed.
Saturn is one of the most fascinating planets for both professional and amateur astronomers. We are most interested in this planet because of its characteristic rings. Although they cannot be seen with the naked eye, anyone can see these impressive rings even through the weakest telescope.
And although we see this system of formations as one massive wide ring rotating in the orbit of the planet, the ring system of Saturn consists of many different rings that differ from each other in density, thickness and width.
Composed primarily of ice and dust, Saturn's rings are held in orbit by the complex gravitational influences of the gas giant and its moons, some of which are actually located within the rings.
Facts about Saturn's rings become even more vivid and real when accompanied by photographs taken by countless telescopes and spacecraft flying past them. Although humanity has learned a lot about the rings since they were first discovered four centuries ago, scientists continue to study them to expand their knowledge.
Be inspired by their beauty and majesty by reading these 25 facts about Saturn's rings and seeing as many amazing photos!
25. In 1610, the famous astronomer and enemy of the church Galileo Galilei became the first person to point his telescope at Saturn. He saw strange, fuzzy shapes near the planet. And since his telescope was not powerful enough, he did not realize that these were the rings of Saturn.
24. Saturn's rings are made up of billions of ice particles and debris, ranging in size from one centimeter to ten meters.
23. With the naked eye we can see five planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. But to see the rings of Saturn, you will need a telescope with at least 20x magnification.
22. The rings are named in alphabetical order based on the date they were discovered. The closest ring to the planet is the D ring, followed by the C, B, A, F, Janus/Epimetheus, G, Pallene and E rings.
21. Saturn's rings are believed to be the remains of passing planets (mostly), asteroids or broken-up moons - largely because 93% of their mass consists of water in the form of ice with minor impurities.
20. The first to see and identify the rings of Saturn was the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens in 1655. Then he suggested that the gas giant has one hard, thin and flat ring.
19. The source of the E ring matter - ice - according to scientists, is Saturn's sixth satellite Enceladus, on the surface of which geysers are active, throwing huge jets of water into space. This satellite is very important for us, because under its surface there is supposedly an ocean in which life can exist.
18. Each ring orbits Saturn at a different speed.
17. Saturn's rings are the most famous in the solar system, but another gas giant, Jupiter, and the ice giants Neptune and Uranus also have rings.
16. A planet's rings can serve as a kind of historical record, showing evidence of comets and meteorites passing through them on their collision course with the planet. Scientists studying the C ring have discovered ripples in its layers, which they suspect are caused by debris from comets or asteroids.
15. While a comet can leave a hole in the rings, a massive body - weighing between 100 million and 10 billion tons - that collided with the rings in 1983 caused them to wobble. They will fluctuate for hundreds of years.
14. Particles within the rings of Saturn can sometimes gather in vertical clusters, forming formations more than 3 kilometers high.
13. Saturn is the second fastest rotating planet after Jupiter, making a full revolution around its own axis in 10 hours 34 minutes 13 seconds. Because of its speed, the planet takes on a convex shape at the equator (and more flattened at the poles), which further emphasizes its rings.
12. The narrow F ring (though it is actually three narrow rings), located just outside Saturn's main ring system, appears to have bends, kinks, and clusters. Scientists speculate that minisatellites may become trapped within the structure, giving the ring a twisted and braided appearance.
11. To get into Saturn's orbit, the Cassini robotic probe carefully flew between the F and G rings before becoming an artificial satellite of the planet.
10. The gaps in the A ring - the Keeler gap and the Encke gap - have their own tiny satellites: Daphnis inside the Keeler gap and Pan inside the Encke gap.
9. Although Saturn's rings cast a shadow 280,000 kilometers into space, they are typically no more than 9 meters thick.
8. In the rings of Saturn, formations were discovered that ran across the rings and looked like ghosts, which scientists called “spokes.” The prevailing scientific consensus is that these are electrically charged layers of tiny dust particles that can form and dissipate within just a few hours.
Although scientists don't understand what causes them to form, theories include meteorites hitting the rings, or beams of electrons from lightning in Saturn's atmosphere being thrown into the rings.
7. Saturn's second largest moon, Rhea, may have its own ring system. Rings have never been discovered around the moon before, and there is currently weak evidence for this, but signs of electron deceleration near Rhea and the presence of ice on the moon's surface (from ring ice formations that fall out of orbit) leave this question unresolved.
6. Despite their apparent size, these rings are actually quite light. The largest of Saturn's 62 moons, Titan makes up more than 90% of the total mass of the satellites orbiting this planet.
5. The Cassini division is a ring gap formed between the main rings B and A, the gap in space is 4700 kilometers.
4. Some satellites of Saturn - especially Pandora and Prometheus - hold the outermost particles of the rings, preventing them from moving away from them, that is, scattering in space. Such satellites are called “shepherd” satellites because they seem to “graze” these particles.
3. Recently, astronomers discovered a new giant ring around Saturn. Located between 3.7 and 11.1 million kilometers from the planet's surface, this ring is tilted 27 degrees relative to the plane of the other rings. In addition, its rotation occurs in the opposite direction.
2. The new ring is so sparse that once inside it is difficult to notice, even though it could accommodate a billion planets comparable in size to the Earth. The ring was only recently discovered because its cold particles (around -193°C) can only be seen with an infrared telescope.
1. According to discoveries made in 2014, scientists believe that at least some of Saturn's moons may have formed at the boundaries of its rings.
Images of the A ring boundary show what could be the formation of a small satellite under the influence of gravity. Since many of Saturn's moons are icy, and ice particles are the main components of the rings, it is hypothesized that the moons were formed by distant rings that existed in the distant past.
But only with Saturn they, one might say, became a kind of “calling card” of this planet. Due to its brightness and beauty, Saturn is the only planet that is depicted with rings, although in fact, it also has rings, though not as bright and noticeable as Saturn.
Who discovered the rings of Saturn
The rings of Saturn were first seen back in 1610 by the great astronomer, who invented the telescope, which became a true scientific sensation of those times. But Galileo Galilei could not explain the nature and origin of the rings; from the moment of their discovery, they remained a mystery to mankind for centuries. Yes, however, they remain to this day, since a detailed study of the rings of Saturn undertaken by NASA in the 1980s of the last century with the help of the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft only added to the mysteries.
What are Saturn's rings made of?
According to scientists, the rings around Saturn consist of numerous asteroids and destroyed satellites, being destroyed before reaching the surface of the planet, they replenished the myriads of particles of these same rings.
The sizes of ring particles can vary from small pebbles to huge blocks the size of a mountain. Also, each ring rotates around the planet at its own speed. There is no exact answer yet on what the speed of Saturn’s rings depends.
Rings of Saturn photo
We bring to your attention beautiful photographs of Saturn's rings.
Where does Saturn get its rings?
Now in science there are two theories that explain the origin of Saturn's rings. According to the first, they were formed as a result of the crash of either a large meteorite or a careless satellite. The destruction could have been caused by the powerful gravitational influences of Saturn, which literally tore a certain celestial object into small pieces.
But there is another theory on this matter, according to it, the rings are the remnants of a large circumplanetary cloud. The satellites of Saturn (62 of them) were formed from the outer part of this cloud, while the inner part remained in the form of cosmic dust, from which the famous rings now consist.
Saturn's ring system
The rings were named alphabetically in the order in which they were discovered. The rings themselves are located quite close to each other, with the only exception being the so-called Kasini division, which has a gap in space of 4700 km. This is the largest gap separating ring A from ring B.
Interesting fact: the F ring is located between two satellites of Saturn: Prometheus and Pandora, scientists believe that these satellites can change the shape of the rings with their gravitational influences.
How many rings does Saturn have?
Next, let's try to answer the question about the number of rings of Saturn. Now astronomers have detected rings D, C, B, A, F, G, E, despite the fact that the outermost ring E is not visible to optical systems; it was recorded using devices that respond to charged particles and electric fields.
Rings A, B and C can be called the main rings of the planet; they are clearly visible through a telescope. Ring A is the outer ring, ring B is the middle ring, and ring C is the inner ring. The D, E and F rings are fainter and are not so easy to see through a telescope, while the E ring is completely impossible.
But that’s not all, because the rings called Latin beeches are very arbitrary, since with a more detailed approach we will see that each of Saturn’s rings breaks up into smaller ones, and those into even smaller parts. As a result, the number of Saturn's rings may approach infinity.
Color of Saturn's rings
Spacecraft images of Saturn's rings show that the rings have different colors.
You can see it yourself in the picture. Since the rings glow due to reflected sunlight, their radiation should have the solar spectrum. But this is provided that the rings have absolute reflectivity. In fact, the particles that make up the rings are themselves mostly made up of water ice, with some darker-colored impurities thrown in.
Rings of Saturn video
And in conclusion, an interesting popular science film about the appearance of the rings of Saturn.
The planet Saturn has become widely known to everyone due to its beautiful rings that revolve around the planet. are divided into three main groups: A, B, C. It is easy to distinguish these groups even from Earth, but if you examine the rings from a relatively close distance, it turns out that there are not 3 groups of them, but much more. There are small gaps between the rings where there are no particles.
The approximate width of the rings is 400 thousand kilometers, and the thickness of the ring is only a few tens of meters. The rings of Saturn consist of various objects: from dust to pieces of ice several meters in diameter. Surprisingly, these particles move at almost the same speed of 10 km/s and they do not seem to move relative to each other.
Saturn's rings were first discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. When Galileo saw the rings of Saturn through a telescope, he did not understand what they were and thought that Saturn was made up of different parts. He could not say exactly what he saw at Saturn - all that could be seen. At that time, telescopes were not so powerful. He saw some foggy objects around the planet. Almost 50 years later, scientists finally established that Saturn has rings, and a little later a gap between them was found using the Cassini spacecraft.
Rings cannot always be seen through a telescope from Earth. orbits the Sun for about 30 years, and every 15 years or so the planet tilts toward Earth so that the rings appear as a barely visible line along Saturn's equator. At this time, the rings are considered invisible from Earth and Saturn is almost no different from its neighbors. The last such period was around 2009.
The particle sizes in the rings are negligible. They vary from a few centimeters to a couple of meters. In rare cases, the particle size exceeds 2 meters. But group B particles are significantly larger than all other particles. Here you can find relatively huge particles ranging in size from hundreds of meters to, in rare cases, several kilometers.
The structure of Saturn's rings
Rings are divided into 3 main groups: A, B, C; but in total there are 2 times more groups of rings. Rings A, B and C are the most noticeable and brightest relative to the other groups. All these groups break up almost imperceptible dark areas, which were later called “cracks”. Between groups A and B there is a “Cassini gap”, named after the scientist who discovered it. Next, between groups B and C there is a “French separator”, and between the rings of groups A and B there is an “Encke minima”.
The image shows Saturn's rings at a time when they are difficult to see from Earth. One of Saturn's moons can be seen on the left in the photo.
In this photo from the Cassini spacecraft, you can see the E, F, G rings. These groups of rings are the furthest from the surface of the planet, and they are invisible to Earth's telescopes.
How Saturn's rings formed is still unclear. Astronomers suggest that Saturn's rings consist of fragments of its satellites that collided in the planet's orbit and then their fragments were captured by the planet's gravitational force. Perhaps there were quite a few of these satellites, since there are a lot of fragments and debris in the rings of the planet. Others believe that the formation of the rings occurred at the same time as the formation of the planet and they are in no way related to cosmic collisions of satellites.
So far there is no evidence for one theory or another. Therefore, it is impossible to establish the true nature of the rings. But no matter how they were formed, they made the planet Saturn the most beautiful planet, at least in the solar system. Thanks to these rings, the planet can be distinguished from all other planets.
