FACTS AND STUNNING PICTURES ABOUT SATURN'S RINGS
Added on: 4th Dec 2016
IN 1610, FAMOUS ASTRONOMER AND CHURCH
ENEMY GALILEO GALILEI WAS THE FIRST PERSON
TO POINT HIS TELESCOPE AT SATURN. HE NOTED
SEEING ODD, EAR-LIKE SHAPES AT THE PLANET'S
SIDE. SINCE HIS TELESCOPE WAS NOT POWERFUL
ENOUGH, HE DIDN'T REALIZE THE VIEW WAS OF
SATURN'S RINGS
SATURN'S RINGS ARE MADE OF BILLIONS OF
PIECES OF ICE AND ROCK, RANGING IN SIZE
FROM A GRAIN OF SALT TO A SMALL MOUNTAIN
WE CAN SEE FIVE PLANETS WITH THE NAKED EYE:
MERCURY, VENUS, MARS, JUPITER, AND SATURN.
TO SEE SATURN'S RINGS RATHER THAN JUST A
BALL OF LIGHT, YOU'LL NEED A TELESCOPE WITH
AT LEAST 20 TIMES MAGNIFICATION
THE RINGS ARE NAMED ALPHABETICALLY BASED
ON THEIR DATE OF DISCOVERY. CLOSEST TO THE
PLANET IS THE D RING, THEN COMES THE C, B, A, F,
JANUS/EPIMETHEUS, G, PALLENE, AND E RINGS
SATURN'S RINGS ARE BELIEVED TO BE
REMNANTS FROM PASSING COMETS (PRIMARILY),
ASTEROIDS, OR BROKEN-UP MOONS, LARGELY
BECAUSE 93% OF THEIR MASS IS WATER IN ICE FORM
THE FIRST PERSON TO ACTUALLY SEE AND IDENTIFY
SATURN'S RINGS WAS DUTCH ASTRONOMER
CHRISTIAAN HUYGENS IN 1655. AT THE TIME, HE
PROPOSED THE GAS GIANT HAD ONE SOLID,
THIN, AND FLAT RING
GEYSERS SHOOTING OUT OF THE MOON ENCELADUS'
SURFACE HAVE CONTRIBUTED ICE TO THE E RING.
THE MOON IS IMPORTANT TO US AS IT CONTAINS
OCEANS WHICH MAY HARBOUR LIFE
EACH OF THE RINGS ORBITS AROUND SATURN
AT A DIFFERENT SPEED
SATURN'S RINGS ARE THE BEST-KNOWN IN THE
SOLAR SYSTEM, BUT THE OTHER GAS GIANT
(JUPITER) AND THE ICE GIANTS (NEPTUNE
& URANUS) ALSO HAVE RINGS
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