Earlier this week, the Cassini science team unveiled evidence of
several more tiny moons circling Saturn and shaping its rings.
One
study suggests a moon only a few miles wide is responsible for
creating patterns at the edge of the Keeler gap, located near the
outer edge of Saturn's main rings.
Protruding into the gap are what
looks like spikes of material, features that match wisps on the inner
edge of the next ring, the F ring.
Carolyn Porco, Cassini's imaging team leader at Boulder, Colo.-based
Space Science Institute, said the second set of features is caused by
the gravity of the nearby moon, Prometheus.
She suspects a moon about
five kilometers, or three miles, in diameter is sculpting the edge of
the Keeler gap.
Scientists also spotted clumps the size of football fields embedded
in the rings. The objects are the smallest features ever seen around
Saturn. Additional studies are needed to determine if the clumps are
solid objects or cloud-like gatherings of particles.
Researchers determined Saturn's extensive system of ringlets
have surprisingly sharp edges, suggesting that they are sculpted by tiny,
undiscovered moons.
Cassini studied the rings' edges by observing
light from a distant star flicker through the rings. At times, the
light is completely blocked; other times it shines directly through.
Scientists do not know exactly how the rings formed, but
theorize that they are the remains of smashed moons.
"Our preliminary results support the idea that rings are recycled
fragments of moons: the current processes are more important than
history and initial conditions," said a team of Cassini researchers
which presented their findings at a recent meeting of the American
Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences in Louisville,
Ky.
Scientists already have found more than 30 moons orbiting Saturn. The
planet's largest moon, Titan, has drawn the most interest because of
its thick atmosphere comprised of a suggestive mix of
Earth-like chemicals.
Cassini made its first close flyby of Titan
last month and is being prepared for a second pass on Dec. 13.
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