Enormous Ring Discovered Around Saturn [720p]

This video showcases the Saturnian system, beginning with the planet itself and panning out to its newest addition -- an enormous ring discovered in infrared light by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

The view starts with a simulated view of Saturn. It then moves outward, showing the orbits of many of Saturn's inner moons in green. The white lines show outer moons with orbits of varying inclinations.

The yellow line shows the orbit of the moon Phoebe, which circles through the newfound ring, represented in tan. Both Phoebe and the outer ring orbit at an angle of 27 degrees from the main ring plane (they also orbit in the opposite direction of the other rings and most of the moons).

The movie then zooms back into the system to show the orbit of the moon Iapetus in blue. Astronomers think that material from the outer ring is migrating in toward Iapetus, splattering its leading hemisphere. This would explain the moon's strange half-black, half-white appearance, first noted by Giovanni Cassini in the late seventeenth century.

Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech; Elements of this animation are courtesy SCISS in Sweden, and American Museum of Natural History in New York, New York.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Saturn
• Saturn's rings
• Iapetus
• Phoebe
• Spitzer Space Telescope
• NASA
• space exploration
• Saturn's moons

[KarbineKyle]

@rochelimit55555 I agree. Phoebe is probably a captured TNO or KBO, much like Neptune's largest moon, Triton, which has hydrostatic equilibrium (enough mass to pull itself into a sphere). Another characteristic to why I believe this is true, is because Phoebe and Triton both have a retrograde orbit, so that gives us more possible facts. I've always found that the many moons can be as interesting or as active as the actual planet. I've always loved astronomy! I hope to live long to see more! =)

[rochelimit55555]

it is interesting actually, bcoz it may explains that phoebe in fact is a captured TNO object, it would explain also why parts of Iapetus is dark red (probably coated by the material from this ring), and it may also explain why Iapetus has "almond-like" ridge that is comparable to extreme ridge of Pan and Atlas (probably accumulation of this material)

Still unexplainable is why the dark color of Iapetus is darker than Phoebe. Iapetus' dark color is more similar to Hyperion than to Phoebe

[javonoUTube]

Maybe its the residue from the Sirius Aliens mother ship, apparently the 5th moon of Saturn is meant to be a UFO mother ship, LOL

[robstuk666]

I don't get it. Is the ring a gas cloud or something? those small rings are the moons orbital path right? I think the hexagon at the north pole of saturn is far more interesting then this discovery btw. I think i already knew that saturn had a ring anywho.

[TNTJahv1er]

nice man, thank you for uploading, Amazing stuff!

[0oBubblezz0o]

wow the ring is huge