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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."

6 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.
  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.