Posted Jul 06, 2006 at 05:13AM by Remi M. Listed in: Science Tags: Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, G-ring
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Saturn's G-ringData sent back by Cassini is shedding light on the origins of some of Saturn's rings by dissecting it's most enigmatic features.

According to the pool of scientists and astronomers who are analyzing Cassini's data, they have seen a bright arc of material looping around the edge of the G-ring. They believe that this is a long-lived feature of the ring held in place by resonant interactions with the moon Mimas.

It has long been known that Saturn has Uranus- and Jupiter-like rings, but with this development, it is most likely that the ringed planet may also have Neptunian type rings, as well. This is so since the G-ring's predicament is very much the same as that of Neptune.

The team had suspected that the bright arc had formed through a series of collisions between small icy bodies orbiting in the plane of the G-ring. Now, they suspect the arc is actually the source of the G-ring, as particles break away from the arc and drift outwards.

Aside from the developments about the G-ring, the researchers now have a full grasp about the origins of the E-ring. They are now quite sure that this double banded ring is formed from ice errupting from geysers at the south pole of the moon Enceladus. But still, more data and research are needed to be dead sure how the double banded structure of the E-ring came about.


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