Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Saturn's Moon Prometheus Spawning Moonlets

Posted by Soulskill on from the hi-NerdyMcNerderson-i-am-Soulskill-on-reddit dept.

astroengine writes "For the first time ever, astronomers have witnessed the formation of celestial objects... in Saturn's rings. As the Saturnian moon Prometheus dashes through the gas giant's rings, it leaves large formations of ice behind, some as large as 12 kilometers in diameter. When the small moon makes another pass, it is not known whether these giant 'snowballs' remain or get destroyed, but according to Linda Spilker, from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory: 'You can think of Saturn's rings as miniature versions of the disks where planets form. The same physical processes are occurring.'" The Planetary Society blog has further explanation, as well as pictures and a movie of Prometheus' interaction with Saturn's rings. The Cassini team has released some fantastic images of the fans and clumps in the F ring, as well as a simulation showing how the ring's particles are affected by the moon's passing.

8 of 47 comments (clear)

  1. That's no moonlet. by grub · · Score: 4, Funny


    It's a space stationlet.

    .

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  2. Stealing the power of the gods again... by Drakkenmensch · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... to create moonlets. This time he's getting lots more eaten by the eagle than just his liver.

  3. One can only imagine the wonders... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...coming out of Uranus.

  4. Kilometers vs. miles by need4mospd · · Score: 5, Funny

    Summary says 12 kilometers, article says 12 miles in diameter. Is it really that hard to get right? You could always say it's 3,862,425,600,000 beard seconds in diameter...

    1. Re:Kilometers vs. miles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Beard seconds are obviously based on Chuck Norris's beard.

    2. Re:Kilometers vs. miles by Wraithlyn · · Score: 2, Funny

      Can God create a question so complex that even he cannot answer it?

      Can Chuck Norris grow a beard so tough that even he cannot shave it?

      (Personally I think he roundhouse kicks himself in the beard. Nothing can withstand that)

      --
      "Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson
  5. Katamari? by Flea+of+Pain · · Score: 2, Funny

    Am I the only one who pictured something to do with Katamari in regards to flying through the rings forming larger objects?

    --
    Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
  6. NASA tradition by Conchobair · · Score: 2, Funny

    Maybe it's just following in the NASA tradition.