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New Ring Discovered Around Saturn

Posted by CowboyNeal on

HunahpuMonkey writes "BBC News is reporting that 'scientists using the Cassini probe have found a new ring and one, possibly two, new objects orbiting Saturn.' The article also notes that the discoveries are in the planet's contorted F-ring region. The ring of new material seems to be associated with Saturn's moon Atlas."

179 comments

  1. Saturn's moons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    They're like vampires. You think you've found all the vampires there is to find and then when your guard is down, boom. Another vampire comes up. Will this ever end?

    1. Re:Saturn's moons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      They keep finding more bodies in orbit.

  2. LOTR 4 : Saturn's contorted F-ring region by rokzy · · Score: 3, Funny

    Frodo and Sam: "Here we go again!"

    Stereotypical old fashioned cash register: "Cha-ching!"

    1. Re:LOTR 4 : Saturn's contorted F-ring region by elmegil · · Score: 1

      pervy hobbit fancier.

      --
      7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
    2. Re:LOTR 4 : Saturn's contorted F-ring region by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Plz explain.. is this a reference to the area in Tokien's works called 'Eregion' explained on rec.arts.books.tolkien like this:
      Ron Mayer (mayer@sono.uucp) wrote:

      : q8cQt*FF2@miggins.apana.org.au> ...
      : On that subject:-)
      : If "Eregion" is pronounced the way it looks: "E region"; then what
      : ever happened to "Aregion", "B-region", "C-region" and "D-region"? :-)
      : My apologies also...:-)
      : Ron

      The only problem with the joke, Ron, is that the "g" in Eregion is a hard
      "g". Pronunciation of places and names is taken up in Appendix E of ROTK.
    3. Re:LOTR 4 : Saturn's contorted F-ring region by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Ron Mayer (mayer@sono.uucp) wrote:

      Wow. There's a blast from the past. I haven't seen a ".uucp" email address in quite some time.

      Anyone have a .uucp email address that still works?

    4. Re:LOTR 4 : Saturn's contorted F-ring region by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
      Anyone have a .uucp email address that still works?

      Yep. Just mail me at 74115.22986@compuserve.com and I'll send it to you.

  3. Not another one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    That's what? 32,638 so far?

    1. Re:Not another one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
      That's what? 32,638 so far?
      Let's hope cassini has something better than a signed 16 bit counter
    2. Re:Not another one... by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Quite. There's so much junk lying in so many rings around Saturn that finding another is hardly big news.

      --
      Engineering is the art of compromise.
    3. Re:Not another one... by LS · · Score: 1

      Come now, the data could be cast to unsigned back on Earth...

      LS

      --
      There is a fine line between being a cultivated citizen and being someone else's crop. - A. J. Patrick Liszkie
    4. Re:Not another one... by mwood · · Score: 1

      I think it's about time to just say that "Saturn has billyuns and billyuns of rings" and be done with it. As long as I've got working radar and enough delta-vee to avoid the big chunks, "here be lots of loose junk" is warning enough.

      Or how about, "Saturn has trillions of moons, most of them smaller than a home refrigerator."

    5. Re:Not another one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In other news, Cassini reports the total count of objects thus far has reached 1

  4. reaching the point... by dustmote · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We're beginning to reach a point where it's just plain silly to describe Saturn's amazing collection of debris as 'moons'.

    --


    -1, "1337" speak
    1. Re:reaching the point... by rokzy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      it's only silly if you insist on being Earth-centric and demanding that each moon be a significant fraction of the planet's size.

    2. Re:reaching the point... by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 2, Informative

      Being associated with Atlas doesn't mean that they were described as moons. But I think they do qualify under the scientific definition.

    3. Re:reaching the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      You're absolutely right! I'm sick of this earthist shit. Such demands are unfair to the other planets. In my classroom, I proudly display a poster of "Earth" where Saturn is in the foreground and earth is depicted as a small insignificant spec in the background--and it's depicted "upside-down" and America is not even visible! Most ignorant "earthlings" gaze wistfully up at their "proper" moon babbling about its "beauty" and never even ponder the dust fragments circling Saturn! Man in the moon, my ass! What about the "womyn on the spec?!"

      Tiny bits of flotsam circling Saturn and other (equally beautiful) planets are perfectly good "moons" too, you bastards! I hope that if there are beings on the other planets, they come and blast our smug, bloated moon into millions of wonderfully diverse bits!

      Mod parent up +555555555 insightful, please!

    4. Re:reaching the point... by AlexMidn1ght · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's fairly easy to distinguish moons and debris...

      Debris are made of rock
      Moons are made of cheese

    5. Re:reaching the point... by Hays · · Score: 1

      A reasonable demand, so that we don't have to name every large boulder in Saturn's ring system.

    6. Re:reaching the point... by rokzy · · Score: 1

      I was refering more to the Copernican Principle that scientists adopt that there are no "special" observers, thus the Earth's point of view is not scientifically more important than any other.

      And since it's the scientists that are in charge of naming these objects, you have to put up with it whether you like it or not.

      MUHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

    7. Re:reaching the point... by calculadoru · · Score: 1

      so now we have to be politically correct towards planets?
      damn.

      --
      The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. -- G.B. Shaw
    8. Re:reaching the point... by zobier · · Score: 1

      What I want to know is where the space cows went.

      --
      Me lost me cookie at the disco.
    9. Re:reaching the point... by mod_parent_down · · Score: 1

      Just because Saturn has a whole lotta F-ring moons, you want to call them F-ring debris, like you're some big F-ring master of the universe.

    10. Re:reaching the point... by Idarubicin · · Score: 1
      Man in the moon, my ass! What about the "womyn on the spec?!"

      For anyone who is interested, there actually is a Woman in the Moon. A prim and proper Victorian lady, in fact. She's quite clear in binoculars, and actually looks a lot more lifelike than the Man.

      If you want to see some sillier figures in the Moon, here's another link.

      --
      ~Idarubicin
    11. Re:reaching the point... by Racter · · Score: 1

      If it's made of rock and not delicious soft cheese, why do they call it "de bris"?

    12. Re:reaching the point... by CommieLib · · Score: 1

      Moons are made of cheese

      Wensleydale, specifically.

      --
      If your bitterest enemies are people who hack the heads off civilians, then I would say you're doing something right.
    13. Re:reaching the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fool.

    14. Re:reaching the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you fail it, retard.

  5. Footfall by rossdee · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Fithp are coming...

    1. Re:Footfall by devphil · · Score: 1


      I wondered if I was the only one who thought of that book when reading about the F-ring. Just finished re-reading it a couple weeks ago, too. Now I need to find that list of which characters in the book are supposed to be which sci-fi authors in real life...

      --
      You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
  6. Stupid Question by IamGarageGuy+2 · · Score: 0, Troll

    What exactly is the definition of a moon? Is it a size thing or is the fact that it has it's own gravitational field?

    --
    Stay tuned for new sig...
    1. Re:Stupid Question by Nos. · · Score: 5, Informative

      There's a good article here about what exactly makes up a moon. I can tell you its not about gravity since basically every object with mass has gravity.

    2. Re:Stupid Question by rokzy · · Score: 4, Informative

      argh! EVERYthing with mass has its own gravitational field. fuckingdictionaryit

    3. Re:Stupid Question by Pfhorrest · · Score: 2, Informative

      EVERYTHING has it's own gravitational field. You do, I do, your computer does; the phosphors on my screen displaying this text as I type it each have their own gravitational field.

      That being said, I'm pretty sure any body which naturally has a regular orbit around a planet is considered a moon, though you must get into a size limit somewhere otherwise every speck of dust in Saturn's rings could be considerd a separate "moon".

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
    4. Re:Stupid Question by AresTheImpaler · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I might be wrong, but I think the "moon" is the name of the natural satallite that orbits the earth. Now, what is a satallite.. acording to the Merriam-Webster dictionary (online), it says:

      a celestial body orbiting another of larger size
    5. Re:Stupid Question by rokzy · · Score: 5, Informative

      "satellite" means orbiting a planet.
      "moon" means natural satellite.
      "Moon" means Earth's moon.

    6. Re:Stupid Question by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

      I think that the only definition that will fly is 'moons are naturally occurring orbital debris.'

      And therefore all of the ring particles are moons.

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    7. Re:Stupid Question by Zarf · · Score: 1

      Okay, follow me here on this little bit of circular argument...

      I had a long argument with a coworker over the topic of whether the Moon spun. The Moon always presents the same face to the Earth, says he, therefore it never spins. Says I, yes, but from the perspective of the Sun the Moon changes faces so it does spin.

      No, the Moon doesn't spin.

      Yes it does.

      No it doesn't.

      Okay, here's an apple and an orange make the "Moon" go 'round the "Earth" and always present the same face to the Earth.

      See, it's not spinning!

      Then why are your hands all twisted up like that after half a revolution?

      That's just a turn ... not a SPIN!

      So, back to moons, orbital debris, and ring particles...

      Those aren't moons... they're rings and those rings are just moons and those debris aren't rings they're just asteroids caught in the gravity of the larger planet... and those artificial moons are just satellites! And... And... that's not a bug it's an unplanned feature!

      --
      [signature]
    8. Re:Stupid Question by commodoresloat · · Score: 2, Funny

      "That's no moon!"

    9. Re:Stupid Question by Greg+K+Nicholson · · Score: 0

      I'd go for a definition similar to Mike Brown's (that Sedna bloke's) suggested definition of a planet - a moon is any body, in orbit around a planet, whose mass is greater than the total of all other masses in similar orbits around the same planet. Of course, this prompts a definition of "similar".

    10. Re:Stupid Question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      indeed. Take as another kind of example a geostationary satellite which appears to be over the same point, somewhere along the equator is good.
      Is it moving, yes. Its orbiting, it just happens to be orbiting at the right distance such that its period is the same as the earths rotation. Ask your coworker about that one :)

    11. Re:Stupid Question by pyrrhonist · · Score: 5, Funny
      Now, what is a satallite.. acording to the Merriam-Webster dictionary (online), it says:

      How the heck did you look up satellite in the dictionary and still manage to spell it wrong?

      --
      Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
    12. Re:Stupid Question by AresTheImpaler · · Score: 1

      It was done on purpose. That way, most slashdot readers can understand what you are trying to say. Slashdot readers need the spelling errors. I guess you must be new here. :D

    13. Re:Stupid Question by xsupergr0verx · · Score: 1

      That's Mimas!

      --

      Click here for a free picture of an iPod!
    14. Re:Stupid Question by Etaoins · · Score: 1

      Basically every object with mass? As far as I know, every object with mass has gravity. Do you know something about gravity I don't?

    15. Re:Stupid Question by jbarket · · Score: 1

      I was under the impression that the moon was called Luna, just like the sun is technically called Sol (ie Solar System).

      --

      -----
      jonathan barket
    16. Re:Stupid Question by Atrax · · Score: 4, Funny

      No no. you're clearly wrong. The Moon is entirely stationary - the rest of the Universe just orbits it in a way that makes it appear to rotate.

      --
      Screw you all! I'm off to the pub
    17. Re:Stupid Question by Alsee · · Score: 1

      a long argument with a coworker over the topic of whether the Moon spun

      You could run through the demonstratation again, but after a few turns remove the earth object and continue spinning the moon object. Of course you'd need to be in a masochistic mood to continue arguing with such a person, lol.

      -

      --
      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
    18. Re:Stupid Question by Nos. · · Score: 1

      Read basically more as "simply put"

    19. Re:Stupid Question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
      Then why are your hands all twisted up like that after half a revolution?

      Note that after 2 such twists, his arms may no longer be twisted!

      Try it with a cup full of water, holding the handle outward. Turn it clockwise, once over your arm, and the second time under your elbow (keeping it upright the whole time). Interestingly and amazingly, the cup stays upright, and watching the handle makes two full 360% turns; yet your arm isn't twisted!

      (a girl that danced in a SF nightclub with flaming batons taught me this technique and explained 'spin 1/2' particles to me - which have the same property of being different when rotated 360degrees but the same when rotated 720degrees))

    20. Re:Stupid Question by Zarf · · Score: 3, Informative

      Try it with a cup full of water, holding the handle outward. Turn it clockwise, once over your arm, and the second time under your elbow (keeping it upright the whole time). Interestingly and amazingly, the cup stays upright, and watching the handle makes two full 360% turns; yet your arm isn't twisted!

      uh, yeah, but that's still spinning.

      And you're assuming that the person isn't sitting down and can get their torso up and around the object. And the 720 degree full spin is just because of additional spatial dimensions which the object has to turn through. The 3-space representation of the object is just a projection of its higher dimensional self. Ofcourse this can be argued to exist as pure conceptual metaphor since spin-space can be argued to not actually exist... ofcourse the definition of actually is open for debate.

      --
      [signature]
    21. Re:Stupid Question by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Funny

      "What exactly is the definition of a moon?"

      When the ring around uranus is visible, that's mooning.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    22. Re:Stupid Question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I haven't checked the respective mass, but I believe that would mean Saturn has no moons. And it certainly would mean that a planet could have at most one moon. That makes little sense; I reject this definition.

    23. Re:Stupid Question by Tim+C · · Score: 1

      No, I think he's just not being entirely clear. *Everything* with mass has gravity, and that includes you, me, the rings on my fingers, the keyboard I'm typing on, *everything*. For things that light, of course, the gravitational filed is vanishingly, almost unmeasurably small, but it's still there.

      In fact, there's an experiment we did in undergrad Physics lab involving small metal balls that allows you to measure the gravitational constant (G in g = GM/(r*r)) by essentially detecting the force of attraction between them.

      --
      It's official. Most of you are morons.
    24. Re:Stupid Question by hugesmile · · Score: 1
      What exactly is the definition of a moon? Is it a size thing or is the fact that it has it's own gravitational field?
      Who the heck modded this as "+1 Interesting"? Wasn't "+1 Let's laugh at this guy's ignorance" available?

      Seriously though, I saw a project mentioned on Slashdot, where a guy demonstrates how any object has a gravitational pull.

      I ^H^H My son did this experiment for his science fair, and it was way cool. Basically you attempt to neutralize the effects of the Earth's pull, and you can watch small objects move toward each other! We watched two 8 pound weights move at each other, and when I moved one, the other one chases it around.

      I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. And we (er, my son) got an "A".

    25. Re:Stupid Question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hate to burst your bubble on this amazing revelation. The Solar System was actually name after Sol , not the other way around.

    26. Re:Stupid Question by ByteSlicer · · Score: 1

      "a celestial body orbiting another of larger size"

      By that definition, the Earth is a moon of the sun...

    27. Re:Stupid Question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cocky fuck. Not everyone has a physics background you know. And nearly every question posed on this shitty little community can be found online. So stop pissing on your colleagues or you'll be left with nothing but a physics book, some lubriderm, and a box of tissues.

    28. Re:Stupid Question by goodydot · · Score: 1

      Did you discover this information on the internet, or the Internet?

    29. Re:Stupid Question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, if you didn't know that any mass has a gravitational field, you really don't have any business being here. This is some standard highschool physics shit, which means you need to either pay more attention in your classes, or you need to get yourself a highschool education. You just lost some major geek points there my friend.

    30. Re:Stupid Question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no, I was ed-u-cat-ed.

    31. Re:Stupid Question by jbarket · · Score: 1

      That's exactly what I was getting at.

      --

      -----
      jonathan barket
  7. Post the by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LotR jokes

    here.

  8. More meaningful title would be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    New Ring Discovered around Uranus ... or ... Urcollar.

    ... because Saturn already has lots of rings. So they counted wrong the first time.

  9. F-ring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    We have the F-ring. Now let's work on the G-spot ;0

    1. Re:F-ring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Now let's work on the G-spot"

      G is for Goatse?

  10. Stupid Answer by Timesprout · · Score: 4, Funny

    Moon n.

    Large body made out of cheese which cows like to jump over.

    --
    Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
    What truth?
    There is no dupe
    1. Re:Stupid Answer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why do people keep moderating shit Redundant

    2. Re:Stupid Answer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also known as a Packers fan.

  11. I don't know how that region looks... by eric_ste · · Score: 0, Redundant

    The "contorted F-ring region"

    But that region is really my favorite woman bodypart ;)

    1. Re:I don't know how that region looks... by eric_ste · · Score: 0

      How it looks like, of coure

      Balmer: "Developer, Developer, Developer"

      Me: "Preview, Preview Preview"

  12. Saturn must be broke by sanmarcos · · Score: 3, Funny

    So many rings, so many weddings, he must be broke!

    1. Re:Saturn must be broke by Paulrothrock · · Score: 1
      But I'm broke from one wedding you insensitive clod!

      And now my wife wants me to sell my Powerbook to pay for it!

      --
      I'm in the hole of the broadband donut.
  13. Damn, I did it again. by eric_ste · · Score: 1

    How it looks like, of course.

    Ballmer: "Developers, Developers, Developers"

    1. Re:Damn, I did it again. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ballmer should have previewed!

  14. Previously-unseen objects out by Saturn??? by phillymjs · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh, no! It's all coming true!

    ~Philly

    1. Re:Previously-unseen objects out by Saturn??? by A+Bugg · · Score: 1

      Footfall is a great book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction.
      A Bugg

  15. More Debris by loid_void · · Score: 1

    The Universe, will it ever cease to exPAND? Man, if it ever contracts...we're in for it...

    --
    Anyone seen my jagged little pill?
  16. Uranus sure has a lot of shit around it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh wait, we're talking about Saturn ... forget it then

  17. a new ring around Saturn? wow! by Tumbleweed · · Score: 4, Funny

    That reminds me - I found a new tree in the forest yesterday.

    I think I'll name it 'George.'

    1. Re:a new ring around Saturn? wow! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      No, no, no. The correct phrasing is, "I now have a tree of my very own. I will hug it, and love it, and call it George."

      (For those who don't get the reference, it's from Looney Tunes: Bugs goes up against the Abominable Snowman.)

    2. Re:a new ring around Saturn? wow! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Blah. Idiot.

    3. Re:a new ring around Saturn? wow! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you sure it wasnt a Bush?

  18. Re:rings by Rotkiv · · Score: 0

    Oh my god!!! the VISIONS!! ok that was sick.

    --
    RArr!
  19. Bullshit by drgath0150 · · Score: 0

    I was going to submit this story a looong time ago, but then realized that it was ridiculous to consider this news and opted not too.

  20. Never dug into the site that far. by Sheetrock · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I was unaware they had a high-resolution spacelab. Although I suppose it makes sense to put prototypes through a number of unusual conditions to harden them for satellite use.

    I wonder how much of the equipment in space runs Linux?

    --

    Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
    -- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.




  21. Asimov's view... by interactive_civilian · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I prefer the idea which Asimov put out in Foundation and Earth: Only the Earth's satellite is called "Moon". Everything else is either referred to by name or as a satellite of [planet].

    This seems good to me. Just call our satellite the Moon, call Mars's satellites Phobos and Deimos(sp?), Jupiter's Io, Europa, etc, and so on, and anything without a name or newly discovered can simply be called satellite.

    --
    "Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks
    1. Re:Asimov's view... by Alsee · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Or we could just accept that human languages tend to contain overloaded words such as "the Moon" and "a moon". Just like a Polish national can polish their silverware.

      -

      --
      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
    2. Re:Asimov's view... by slittle · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ^^ what he said.

      And don't forget the Sun, which is also a sun.

      Or you can call Earth, Terra (making us Terrans, w00t!), Terra's moon, Luna, and Terra's star Sol.

      Clear as mud?

      --
      Opportunity knocks. Karma hunts you down.
    3. Re:Asimov's view... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is no moon

    4. Re:Asimov's view... by _Hellfire_ · · Score: 2, Informative

      Technically, the Earth's moon is called "Luna". People just call it "the moon" because that's the particular solar system planetary satellite you're probably referring to (as opposed to another planet's satellite). It's just laziness really.

      Deimos is spelled correctly in your post btw.

      --
      "And then I visited Wikipedia ...and the next 8 hours are a blur..."
    5. Re:Asimov's view... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      Or you can call Earth, Terra (making us Terrans, w00t!), Terra's moon, Luna, and Terra's star Sol.

      Still, you could stand on terra firma on other planets. And tides anywhere would be related to the lunar cycle. And there are solar systems. These words are still overloaded; using Latin doesn't help.

    6. Re:Asimov's view... by basingwerk · · Score: 1

      It's also laziness to distiguish between planets and satellites, as the difference (in orbital terms) is only one of scale. The earth is luna's moon, isn't it?

      --
      I stole this .sig
    7. Re:Asimov's view... by _Hellfire_ · · Score: 1

      I would have said that the Earth is not Luna's moon simply because the Earth does not orbit Luna, it's the other way around.

      --
      "And then I visited Wikipedia ...and the next 8 hours are a blur..."
    8. Re:Asimov's view... by MeanSolutions · · Score: 1

      Not quite correct. They are sort of orbiting around each other. But as Earth is bigger, its movements are smaller than the Moons and therefore it is easier in a simplified context to say that the Moon orbits Earth.

      --
      Swedish, but resident in the UK since 1996.
    9. Re:Asimov's view... by turgid · · Score: 1

      IIRC the centre of mass of the earth-moon system is inside the earth, but not near the centre of the earth. It's pretty easy to calculate it if you have the masses and radii of the earth and moon to hand.

      --
      Stick Men
    10. Re:Asimov's view... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No. The sun is a STAR. The sun is THE sun.

    11. Re:Asimov's view... by Stephen+Williams · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Terra's moon, Luna

      A lot of moons in the Solar System have Greek names, not Roman names. Following this convention, the Moon's name would be Selene, I think.

      -Stephen

    12. Re:Asimov's view... by Angstroem · · Score: 1
      Or you can call Earth, Terra (making us Terrans, w00t!), Terra's moon, Luna, and Terra's star Sol.
      This is just translating it into Latin... (So much for your "w00t".)

      It doesn't change a bit whether you call our moon Moon, Luna, or Mond. Moon, as in "a moon"/"ein Mond", has become a synonyme for (natural) satellite in probably all current languages. Same goes for Sun, Sol, or Sonne, and "a sun"/"eine Sonne".

      Would even work in Latin: Sol is our sun, sol is a sun.

    13. Re:Asimov's view... by drsquare · · Score: 1

      Technically, 'Luna' is just 'Moon' in another language, so it's no different than calling the moon 'The Moon'.

    14. Re:Asimov's view... by basingwerk · · Score: 1

      When you are on Luna, Earth is orbiting you. So Earth is Luna's moon, and Luna is Earth's moon. It's a two-body situation, and the Newtonian equations to describe the gravity and motion of both bodies are the same.

      --
      I stole this .sig
  22. Discoveries piling on. by Mortiss · · Score: 1

    It was sure worth sending this probe, given all the data it has already provided. Scientists must be jumping up and down. However, are we now supposed to modify all the existing drawings and pictures of Saturn to include a new ring?

  23. well duh... by ebilhoax · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Anyone who watched the first episode of Father of the Pride already knew that Siegfried and Roy were adding a new ring.

    1. Re:well duh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why is the parent off topic? Note to mods: do not automatically mod down posts as offtopic when they refer to shows you haven't watched!

    2. Re:well duh... by ebilhoax · · Score: 1

      THANK YOU!
      atleast someone gets it. =)

  24. Don't let your attention waver! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    NASA is really just trying to keep you from paying too much attention to Gensis... don't be fooled! :P

    (no, I don't have a tinfoil hat; yes, it's a joke)

  25. F-Ring? by geighaus · · Score: 1

    As in the f-word? :p

  26. Theorists Might be Right by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 4, Informative

    Theorists have posited the existance of small moons (~5 km) inside the F ring for some time. They could explain the odd look and behavior of the F ring, although they are not the only possibility. If these new objects are moons and not temporarly clumps of ring material, it will be interesting to see how the models and data agree (or don't agree).

    1. Re: Theorists Might be Right by gidds · · Score: 1
      Erm... Isn't this just a matter of semantics?

      There's an awful lot of stuff orbiting Saturn; much of it's in very small pieces, but there's a wide range of sizes all the way up to the few big moons that everyone knows. But AIUI there's no inherent difference between the very small bits and the medium-sized bits, so calling some of them 'moons' and some 'ring material' is just an arbitrary distinction, isn't it?

      But then, the same applies to the rings, too. There are no physical rings, just lost of chunks of stuff. It looks like a solid ring if you stand far enough away, but as you get closer you see it split into smaller and smaller sections until you can see the individual chunks of material. Okay, some parts clump together closer than other parts, but there's no physical barrier between one 'ring' and another. The only objective ways of looking at it are either 'Saturn has a ring of stuff around it', or 'Saturn has an awful lot of chunks of stuff around it'. Isn't the rest just arguing with words?

      --

      Ceterum censeo subscriptionem esse delendam.

    2. Re: Theorists Might be Right by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 1

      Ring particles are typically at most a few meters across. A 5 km body would be much larger than this and therefore rather distinct. Even a modest population of them would also probably not fit into the size distribution of the ring material. And their influence on the ring dynamics isn't like the background ring particle population's. So all in all, it makes sense to think of them as something apart from normal ring material.

  27. Jokes? by xee · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Where are the comments about finding new rings around uranus? Surely some slashdotters out there have found a few of those tonight, eh? Or how about "moon" being defined, as I always thought it was, as my ass in a car window with pants pulled down.

    --
    Oh shit! I forgot to click "Post Anonymously"...
    1. Re:Jokes? by davidsyes · · Score: 1, Funny

      Ahem, SINCE you assed, ahem, aSKED, I guess if Saturns moons are IN Uranus, those could be called "Moonheroids"... THese are NOT the kind of "kling-ons" you want hanging around...

      WOuld Klingons on earth be "anti-government polyps"?

      I remember back around 1990 seeing a new Saturn with the license plate:

      HazRngs

      or maybe

      HzRings

      It was/is cute pun on Saturn Has Rings and the car being a Saturn, heheh.

      Now, these:

      http://www.thecommentarybox.co.uk/issue45/kickas s. htm

      --
      Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  28. LOL! by krumms · · Score: 3, Funny

    Saturn has an F-ring huh? You'd think you'd find an F-ring somewhere closer to Uranus.

    1. Re:LOL! by AntiChris · · Score: 1

      No... that'd be the "O-Ring"

      --
      From 0 to drunk in $20
  29. *Earth* is gonna have a ring... by tajmorton · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Earth is going to have a ring of space crap around it in a few years...

    In other news...AOL announced a plan to send thousands of free hours into space. They will be delivered by sending up junk in the shuttle @ 1.5M a launch.

    --
    Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember.
    1. Re:*Earth* is gonna have a ring... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
      Earth is going to have a ring of space crap around it in a few years...

      It already does (go to the the J-Track 3D section).

  30. Change it by prelelat · · Score: 5, Funny

    well then how come slashdot hasn't changed the icon that goes with the space stories. I won't believe theirs anouther ring until that happens.

  31. Re:rings by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    " Oh my god!!! the VISIONS!! ok that was sick."

    errr no, actually, it was totally lame.

    For anybody in posession of anything above a third grade reading ability, anyway.

  32. To quote Futurama... by TheOtherAgentM · · Score: 4, Funny

    Fry: "As long as you don't make me smell Uranus." Leela: "Huh? I don't get it?" Dr. Farnsworth: "Fry, they changed the name of the planet in 2620 to end that stupid joke once and for all." Fry: "What's it called now?" Dr. Farnsworth: "Urectum!:

  33. I'm confused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We are talking about moons when Saturn has just bent over to show us its f-ring?

  34. the word is: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    its RINGTASTIC

  35. Saturn, by gad_zuki! · · Score: 1

    So when's the wedding and who's the lucky gal?

  36. More sinister however..... by trellick · · Score: 5, Funny

    Personally I think conspiracy theorists will be far more concerned because this article simply comes 'from the dept'..nothing more....

    THE dept!!! Scary....

    Who are they!? What is their agenda!?

    1. Re:More sinister however..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No no no. You're asking the wrong question. you need to ask "Who is The Dept" not "Who are they". They are a completely seperate group and want no ties to The Dept. if They had any ties to The Dept, They would certainly not want those ties to be spoken of so openly. However, since They do not have any ties to The Dept, They require that no such insinuations of any tie, link, ln, shortcut, similarity, or other relationship be made.

      This has been a public service announcement. Had this been an actual They or The Dept announcement, you would all have been shot before getting this far. Also were this a They announcement the typist would never be allowed to finish and send it.

      Thank you, That will be

  37. Obligatory joke by Old+Telco+Guy · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Oh! Oh! There's a ring around....

    ....

    Oh, this isn't Uranus.

    Damn you!

    Damn you to hell!

  38. Atlas Shrugged by PingPongBoy · · Score: 1

    What we're seeing is some dandruff buildup orbiting Saturn.

    --
    Know your pads. One time pad: good for cryptography. Two timing pad: where to take your mistress.
  39. While the rest of sci-fi calls it... by devphil · · Score: 1


    ...Luna.

    Then /everything/ goes by a name, and "moon" is reserved for satellites which obey certain principles (I don't remember what they are).

    --
    You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
  40. That's no moon... by beeglebug · · Score: 1

    Well, if it's too small to be a space station, then it must be a moon, right?

  41. Have they found the Millenium Falcon? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Have they found the Millenium Falcon hiding among the debris?

    While the crew argues whether something is to big or to small to be a moon?
    And why is it that Chewbacca wins all these discussions?

    --
    Dennis SCP

  42. The Slashdot Definition by deathcow · · Score: 1


    Let's adopt this definition at Slashdot.

    It's a moon if it's big enough that it's own gravity and mass forms itself into a spherical shape.

    Phobos... obviously a big rock.
    Europa... a moon.

    1. Re:The Slashdot Definition by Bambi+Dee · · Score: 1

      If I stood on Phobos, would I get the impression that I'm standing on a plane (and I don't mean an airplane, I mean something that could be mistaken for something like Discworld)? That's kinda my personal, unscientific feel-good definition of "planet" (moons being planets orbiting other planets)...

    2. Re:The Slashdot Definition by aiabx · · Score: 1

      That's a pretty good, arbitrary definition. Now you can struggle with the question of whether the solar system has 8 or 100000 planets.
      -aiabx

      --
      Just this guy, you know?
    3. Re:The Slashdot Definition by Frizzle+Fry · · Score: 1
      It's a moon if it's big enough that it's own gravity and mass forms itself into a spherical shape.

      So you would consider the earth to be a moon? Or is your definition incomplete?
      --
      I'd rather be lucky than good.
  43. speaking of stellar objects by pair-a-noyd · · Score: 0

    with all the talk about Uranus, the question begs,

    Why the hell do they call them "hemorrhoids"??
    Why don't they call them "ASSteroids" ??

  44. Splendid play on words, chap! by Emot · · Score: 0
    You sir, are quite the lad of clever discernment! I nearly fell out of my high-backed arm-chair laughing at your clever wit derived from a hack comedian on NBC! By which of course I mean a clever and talented comical-genius who spent seven long years as the Top Draw on the hit Must See TV Thursdays on NBC!

    Wow! You're so clever and witty! I applaud you for this clever insight that was made ten years ago by an unfunny nit-wit on network television! But when you do it, sir, it brings this tired old man to fits of hysterics! Side-splitting and delightful! I just simply can not wait for another of your delicious witticisms!

    How about asking what the deal is with airline peanuts? Or maybe that one about the parachute helmet! Because the first time that joke was made, it just wasn't funny, but somehow now these japes and jibes are just astoundingly hilarious! Watch how I chortle aloud at the gaity of it all!

    Kudos to you, good sir, for tickling my funny-bone in a manner most befitting an inter-net comedian!

    --

    ALL HAIL THE BEAST THAT ASCENDETH FROM THE PIT WITH HIS CUTE WIDDLE NOSE =^o.o^=

  45. Are you sure these are "new"? by hugesmile · · Score: 1
    'scientists using the Cassini probe have found a new ring and one, possibly two, new objects orbiting Saturn.

    Does the fact that we hadn't seen them before make them new? I'm going to visit that new continent called Europe next year...

  46. Looking the wrong direction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No wonder we haven't found Bin Laden yet...

  47. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  48. New Objects by demon_2k · · Score: 0

    First they found new planets and now a new ring, how is it that they didn't see it before?

  49. Darn right it's coming true. by Id+Man · · Score: 1

    The newly discovered debris aroun saturn are just more evidence that David Bowman is in a foul mood.

  50. First rule ... by gstoddart · · Score: 1
    THE dept!!! Scary....

    Who are they!? What is their agenda!?


    First rule of 'the dept', you do not talk about 'the dept'.

    =)

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  51. That's no moon... by kulakovich · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... its a space station.

    kulakovich

  52. Siegfreid and Roy Quote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "We have to go now, Saturn just got another ring; it looks like things are getting serious!"

    ---Father of the Pride

  53. Obelisk by jbeaupre · · Score: 1

    Parts of the story that were edited out: ... object is 1 x 4 x 9 km ... ... changed orbit ... ... monkey's walloping each other with thigh bones ...

    --
    The world is made by those who show up for the job.
  54. And in other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A new ring has also been discovered by your mom around uranus...composed mainly of dingleberium (pronounced Dingleberry-um), the new ring has been designated shit-ring B.

  55. Hemiroids by tepples · · Score: 1

    "Hemiroids" is an Asteroids clone for the Mac. The space rocks are actually drawn cut in half ("hemi"-spheres).

  56. Re:Your kidding right? by aussie_a · · Score: 1

    It was on-topic damnit! I was talking about Saturn and Uranus and whatnot. Sheeesh.