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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."

7 of 179 comments (clear)

  1. 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
  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: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
  4. 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 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.
    2. 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.

  5. *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.