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Cassini Confirms New Moon of Saturn

Posted by samzenpus on from the made-of-cheese dept.

pipcorona writes ""In a spectacular kick-off to its first season of prime ring viewing, which began last month, the Cassini spacecraft has confirmed earlier suspicions of an unseen moon hidden in a gap in Saturn's outer A ring. A new image and movie show the new moon and the waves it raises in the surrounding ring material."

22 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. "Name That Moon" Contest by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 4, Funny


    From TFA:



    The new body has been provisionally named S/2005 S1.


    Well, that just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

    Looks like it's up to us...please post your suggestions for the new moon's name below.

    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:"Name That Moon" Contest by Dan+Up+Baby · · Score: 5, Funny

      S/2005 S1, as you know, was the Roman god of awkward names.

    2. Re:"Name That Moon" Contest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's no moon...

    3. Re:"Name That Moon" Contest by pv2b · · Score: 3, Funny

      Britannia.

      Why, after all, it rules the waves in Saturn's belt. Britannia rule the waves. Get it?

      Besides, what more fitting tribute to the decline of the British Empire than naming an insignificant 7 kilometer wide hunk of rock(or whatever it's made of) after it. :-)

    4. Re:"Name That Moon" Contest by Meetch · · Score: 5, Funny

      Ok so consensus would have us leaning toward a really cool name like "Deathstar". Sorry for stating the obvious!

    5. Re:"Name That Moon" Contest by pv2b · · Score: 5, Funny
      goatse
      I'm sorry. We can't name it Goatse. I think that award should be reserved for the Goatse Stellar Nursery (A.K.A. NGC 604).

      You can't tell me that doesn't look like goatse. I swear! It does!
    6. Re:"Name That Moon" Contest by sik0fewl · · Score: 3, Funny

      I don't know, it's all Greek to me.

      --
      I remember when legal used to mean lawful, now it means some kind of loophole. - Leo Kessler
    7. Re:"Name That Moon" Contest by mbrewthx · · Score: 2, Funny

      With a name like s/2005 S1 I wonder if there is a Stargate on it? Probably not wrong type of naming convention.

      Let's call her Sheila.

      --
      __________ Leave me alone I'm compiling a RPG II program on my S/36...Thanks to metamucil I'm a Regular Meta Moderator
    8. Re:"Name That Moon" Contest by Brett+Buck · · Score: 2, Funny

      Another day, another proof of goatse's transcendent relevance to the physical world. Brett

    9. Re:"Name That Moon" Contest by Wizarth · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh My... $DIETY really does have a sense of humour!

  2. So everythings a moon now? by mnmn · · Score: 4, Funny

    7km across? Compared to Saturn thats tiny. Thats like saying the ISS is a moon.

    So how do you draw a distinction between a moon, a natural satellite, asteroids and space junk? You can either say the moon Earth has an asteroid orbiting it... or that Earth has many moons orbiting it, only one of which is large enough to see.

    So if I pay the Russian space program to launch my 1kg rock in lower orbit, do I get to name my moon, or will they just name it
    S/2005 SR26GC3.14159265357?

    Which makes me wonder, have we named or numbered our own moon yet? Can I call shotgun and call it 'fp!'?

    --
    "Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
    1. Re:So everythings a moon now? by Greyfox · · Score: 5, Funny
      Thats like saying the ISS is a moon.

      That's not a moon. It's a space station.

      --

      I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

    2. Re:So everythings a moon now? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I do believe our own moon is named Luna, which would be where you get the word "Lunar"

      Thanks this explains a lot. Here in the UK many people refer to Tony Blair as a Lunatic, so I guess that must mean he's a blood sucking parasite from outer space :)

    3. Re:So everythings a moon now? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      You actually used a bulleted list. Holy crap, that's amazing!

    4. Re:So everythings a moon now? by fo0bar · · Score: 2, Funny

      I do believe our own moon is named Luna, which would be where you get the word "Lunar", although you rarely ever hear anybody call the moon by its actual name.

      What's next? Calling the sun something stupid like "Sol"?

  3. Re:What's so special about a new moon? by forkazoo · · Score: 5, Funny

    The impala is not recognised as a unit of measure. Please use Volkswagons, or ISO Standard Bathtubs.

    I'm not sure where the exact cutoff is. I'd assume anything in the decivolkswagon range would simply be considered as flotsam unworthy of a name, unless somebody wants to try to catalogue everything in the rings! You'd need a lot of mountain dew.

  4. Re:Not a movie! by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Funny

    "It's not a movie! Geez! It's an animated GIF image! (Score:2, Informative)"

    *Sigh*

    Remember when these debates were fun? Now I worry a chick will see me.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  5. Re:yeah but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    does the moon run linux?

    No, it runs Lunix!

  6. The name by jlebrech · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hey they even called the planet after the Sega Saturn, why not called this new moon Dreamcast.

  7. Sphere of Fear by Shivetya · · Score: 4, Funny

    Planet Death?
    The Killing Ball?
    Death Moon?
    Giant Hurt Ball?
    The Deathdicle?

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
  8. Re:Apologies in advance... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    "that's no moon, that's a spa--...oh, my mistake, actually it is. shoot him han."

  9. Re:Not a movie! by Captain+Irreverence · · Score: 2, Funny

    *Sigh* Remember when these debates were fun? Now I worry a chick will see me.

    This is Slashdot. No danger of that.