Cassini heightens its study of Saturn's rings

William Atkins
Tuesday, 22 September 2009 18:19

Science - Space

Project scientists with the Cassini spacecraft mission are astonished to see for the first time that the rings of Saturn have a dramatic third dimension, height, and some of them are as tall as a couple of miles.


According to the NASA media release “Cassini Reveals New Ring Quirks, Shadows During Saturn Equinox,” the Cassini spacecraft observed the rings of Saturn during the planet’s equinox, which occurred in August 2009.

Previous to this viewing, astronomers had thought that the height of the rings were only a few feet in vertical distance.

In fact, the NASA article pointed out that “Scientists have known about vertical clumps sticking out of the rings in a handful of places, but they could not directly measure the height and breadth of the undulations and ridges until Saturn's equinox revealed their shadows.”

The images, released on Monday, September 21, 2009, revealed that the rings are not almost flat but, instead, the “lumps and bumps” within the rings are at heights nearly “… as high as the Rocky Mountains.”

To view these 3-D rings, take a look at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory website “Latest Press Images.”

Bob Pappalardo, Cassini project scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, exclaimed, “It's like putting on 3-D glasses and seeing the third dimension for the first time. This is among the most important events Cassini has shown us." [NASA]

Page two discusses what happened between the Sun, Saturn, and Cassini.