Tag Archives: Saturns

Saturn’s Rings Create a Massive Dusty Donut Encircling the Planet

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A stunning view of Saturn and its rings as seen by the Cassini spacecraft

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

New findings indicate that dust particles from Saturn’s rings are extended farther above and below the planet than previously assumed, implying that the rings might be shaped like large, dusty donuts.

The central structure of Saturn’s rings is remarkably thin, stretching out for tens of thousands of kilometers while only measuring around 10 meters in height, which gives Saturn its iconic look from Earth. However, variations exist, such as the outer E-ring that is inflated and replenished by ice ejected from Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which has an ocean beneath its surface.

In a recent study, Frank Postberg and his team at the Free University of Berlin examined data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which completed 20 orbits in its final year of operation in 2017. During these orbits, the spacecraft took a steep trajectory through the rings, starting from a distance up to three times Saturn’s radius and moving downwards towards three times Saturn’s radius.

At the height of Cassini’s orbital path, its spectrometer, known as the Cosmic Dust Analyzer, detected hundreds of tiny rock particles with a chemical makeup similar to those found in the iron-deficient main rings. “This spectral type is genuinely unique within the Saturn system,” Postberg stated.

“While more material is near the surface of the rings, it is still astonishing that these particles are found so far above and below the ring surface,” he added.

Postberg and his collaborators determined that to reach heights greater than 100,000 kilometers from the main ring, the particles must be traveling at speeds exceeding 25 kilometers per second to break free from Saturn’s gravitational and magnetic forces.

Postberg noted that the exact mechanism achieving such speeds remains uncertain. The simplest explanation might be that a minor meteorite strikes the ring, scattering particles; however, this does not generate debris quickly enough.

New research suggests that when micrometeorites impact Saturn’s rings, they could generate sufficiently high temperatures to vaporize the rocks, implying that Saturn’s rings are older than once believed. Postberg and his team propose that this vaporized rock could exit the ring at much higher speeds than expected and then condense far from the planet.

It is surprising to find dust at such distances from the main ring. According to Frank Spahn from the University of Potsdam in Germany, who was not part of the study, this is significant because the particles in Saturn’s primary rings are small, collide rarely, and are sticky, leading to collisions that behave more like snowballs colliding than like billiard balls.

Micrometeorite impacts are prevalent throughout the solar system; hence, similar processes might be occurring on other ringed planets like Uranus. “If a ring of ice experiences a high-velocity impact, this phenomenon could be widespread; we would expect analogous dust rings above and below the other rings,” Postberg concluded.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Saturn’s Moon Titan Could Harbor an Unforeseen Blend of Hydrogen Cyanide and Hydrocarbons

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Titan serves as an intriguing subject for in-depth investigations of organic chemistry under unusual conditions. This Saturnian moon is abundant in nonpolar hydrocarbons like ethane and methane, alongside hydrogen cyanide (HCN), a highly relevant small polar molecule in prebiotic chemistry. Recent studies show that these notably polar compounds can mix at low temperatures, creating structures that challenge traditional chemical theories.

Artistic rendering of Kraken Mare, Titan’s extensive ocean of liquid methane. Image credit: NASA’s John Glenn Research Center.

Hydrogen cyanide is commonly found in the astrochemical landscape and has been detected in numerous celestial bodies, including the interstellar medium, comets, planets, moons, and dwarf planets.

This molecule ranks as the second most prevalent product anticipated from Titan’s atmospheric chemistry.

Dr. Martin Rahm, a researcher from Chalmers University of Technology, stated: “These remarkable discoveries enhance our understanding of something vast—a moon comparable in size to Mercury.”

In laboratory experiments, Rahm and his team combined hydrogen cyanide with methane and ethane at temperatures as low as 90 K (around -180 degrees Celsius).

At this temperature, hydrogen cyanide forms crystals, while methane and ethane exist as liquids.

Using laser spectroscopy to analyze these mixtures at an atomic level, researchers found that while the molecules remained intact, changes were still occurring.

To uncover what was happening, they conducted extensive computer simulations to explore thousands of potential molecular arrangements in the solid phase.

Ultimately, they discovered that the hydrocarbons infiltrated the hydrogen cyanide crystal lattice, leading to the formation of a stable new structure termed a cocrystal.

“The identification of unexpected interactions between these substances may influence our understanding of Titan’s geology and unique features such as lakes, oceans, and sand dunes,” Dr. Rahm explained.

“Moreover, hydrogen cyanide could be crucial in the abiotic synthesis of some life-building blocks, like amino acids for proteins and nucleobases for genetic material.”

“Consequently, our research offers valuable insights into the pre-emergent chemistry of life and the potential for life to evolve in extreme environments.”

of result Published in July 2025. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Fernando Izquierdo Ruiz and others. 2025. Hydrogen cyanide and hydrocarbons mix on Titan. PNAS 122 (30): e2507522122; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2507522122

Source: www.sci.news

Webb Discovers Intricate Structures in Saturn’s Upper Atmosphere

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Astronomers utilizing the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope have identified a series of dark, bead-like star formations within Saturn’s ionosphere and stratosphere.

Detection of near-infrared emissions in Saturn’s ionosphere (left) reveals dark bead-like features embedded in bright auroras. In the stratosphere (right), below 500 km, an asymmetric star pattern extends toward the equator. Image credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/WEBB/STALLARD et al.

“This was the first opportunity for me to make such detailed near-infrared observations of Saturn’s aurora and upper atmosphere,” said the researcher.

“We anticipated seeing emissions across various levels.”

“Instead, we observed intricate patterns of beads and stars, which might be interconnected despite their considerable height separation and could relate to the iconic hexagon within Saturn’s clouds.”

“These features were entirely unforeseen and remain unexplained.”

The research team concentrated on detecting infrared emissions from charged molecular hydrogen, which plays a significant role in Saturn’s atmospheric dynamics, offering valuable insights into the chemical and physical processes at work.

Using Webb’s near-infrared spectrograph, scientists observed H3+ ions at an altitude of 600 km, 1,100 km above Saturn’s nominal surface, alongside lower stratospheric methane molecules.

Within the ionosphere’s electrically charged plasma, a series of dark bead-like features intermingled within bright aurora halos were detected.

These structures maintained stability for several hours but seemed to drift slowly over time.

In the stratosphere of Saturn, researchers identified asymmetric star-shaped features, dropping approximately 500 km.

This remarkable formation extended from Saturn’s North Pole down toward the equator.

Only four of the star’s six arms were visible, with two mysteriously absent, resulting in a biased pattern.

“Studying Saturn’s atmosphere has always posed challenges due to the faint emissions from that region,” remarked Professor Stallard.

“Webb’s remarkable sensitivity transforms our capacity to observe these atmospheric layers, unveiling a wholly different structural configuration than previously noted.”

The authors meticulously mapped the precise locations of features, overlaying data for the same Saturn area, discovering that the arms of the star seem to emanate from a point just above the hexagonal structure at the Stormcloud level.

This implies that the mechanisms driving the pattern could influence structures penetrating through Saturn’s atmosphere.

“We believe the dark beads arise from the intricate interactions between Saturn’s magnetosphere and its dynamic atmosphere, potentially providing new insights into the energy exchanges that fuel Saturn’s auroras,” stated Professor Stallard.

“The asymmetric star formations suggest previously unknown atmospheric processes functioning within Saturn’s stratosphere and are likely connected to the hexagonal storm pattern observed deeper in Saturn’s atmosphere.”

“Interestingly, the dark beads in the ionosphere seem to align with the arms of the strongest stars in the stratosphere, though it’s unclear whether this connection is genuine or merely coincidental.”

Both phenomena may have significant implications for our comprehension of atmospheric dynamics within the gas giant, although further investigation is needed to elucidate their underlying causes.

The team aspires for additional time to conduct follow-up observations of Saturn using Webb to explore further features.

As planets align approximately every 15 years, the structure can undergo dramatic changes as Saturn’s orientation shifts toward the Sun, moving the Northern Hemisphere into autumn.

“The necessity for follow-up Webb observations during this pivotal phase of Saturn’s seasonal transition is evident, as neither atmospheric layer can be examined using ground-based telescopes.” Paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Book.

The findings were also presented as a result this month at the EPSC-DPS2025 Joint Meeting in Helsinki, Finland.

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Tom S. Stallard et al. 2025. JWST/NIRSPEC detects the complex structures of Saturn’s ionosphere and stratosphere. Geophysical Research Book 52 (17): E2025GL116491; doi: 10.1029/2025GL116491

Tom S. Stallard et al. 2025. Transformational observations of the ionosphere of the giant planet with JWST. EPSC Abstract 18: EPSC-DPS2025-817; doi: 10.5194/epsc-dps2025-1438

Source: www.sci.news

Planetary Researchers Discover Wobble-like Atmosphere Similar to Saturn’s Hazy Moon Titan

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Titan is the sole moon in our solar system with a significant atmosphere, captivating planetary scientists for years. Recent analysis of archival infrared data from the composite infrared spectrometer (CIRS) onboard the NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens mission reveals that Titan’s hazy atmosphere does not rotate uniformly with its surface but instead exhibits a wobbly motion akin to that of a seasonally shifting gyroscope.

This view of Titan is among the final images received from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute.

“The dynamics of Titan’s atmospheric tilt are quite peculiar,” remarked Dr. Lucy Wright, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol.

“Titan’s atmosphere acts similarly to a gyroscope and seems to maintain stability in space.”

“We suspect that certain historical events may have displaced the atmosphere from its spin axis, resulting in its wobbling motion.”

“More intriguing is the observation that the degree of this tilt varies with Titan’s seasons.”

Dr. Wright and her team analyzed the symmetry within Titan’s atmospheric temperature field, confirming their hypothesis that it is centrally located at the poles.

However, this symmetry alters over time, corresponding with Titan’s extensive seasonal cycles that span nearly 30 years.

“What complicates matters is that this phenomenon is unaffected by the Sun or Saturn; it remains stationary in space, while the slope direction is fixed,” noted Professor Nick Teenby from the University of Bristol.

“This presents us with a riddle instead of a solution.”

This discovery will impact NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly Mission, a rotorcraft set to reach Titan in the 2030s.

Dragonflies will descend into the atmosphere, subject to the rapid winds of Titan, which are approximately 20 times faster than the surface rotation.

Understanding how the atmosphere wobbles seasonally is crucial for accurately determining the landing trajectory of the Dragonfly.

The tilt influences the payload’s aerial trajectory, making this study vital for engineers in predicting landing sites.

“The Goddard Space Flight Center noted: ‘NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center plays a significant role globally.”

“This instrument travels across the solar system, continuing to yield valuable scientific insights.”

“The behavior of Titan’s atmosphere as a rotating top detaches from the surface prompts fascinating inquiries that enhance our understanding of atmospheric physics, applicable to both Titan and Earth.”

Survey results were published this week in the Journal of Planetary Science.

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Lucy Wright et al. 2025. Seasonal evolution of the stratospheric slope and temperature field of Titan at high resolution from Cassini/CIRS. Planet. SCI. J 6, 114; doi: 10.3847/psj/adcab3

Source: www.sci.news

Weather Update from Titan, Saturn’s Moon: Partly Cloudy with Intermittent Methane Rain

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With data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope and the Keck II telescope, astronomers have found signs of cloud convection in Titan’s northern hemisphere. The majority of Titan’s lakes and oceans are situated in this region, replenished by sporadic rains of methane and ethane. Webb has also identified essential carbon-containing molecules that offer insight into Titan’s intricate atmospheric chemical processes.

These Titan images taken by Webb on July 11, 2023 show the Keck II telescope on July 14, 2023 (lower row), showing methane clouds (white arrows) appearing at various altitudes in Titan’s northern hemisphere. Image credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI/KECK Observatory.

Titan is a fascinating world enveloped in a yellowish smog haze. Its atmosphere, primarily composed of nitrogen, experiences weather patterns similar to those on Earth, such as clouds and rain.

In contrast to Earth, where weather is influenced by the evaporation and condensation of water, Titan’s chilly environment features a methane cycle.

Methane evaporates from the surface, rising into the atmosphere to condense into clouds.

Occasionally, icy particles fall to solid surfaces as a form of cold, oily rain.

“The Goddard Space Flight Center involves astronomers,” stated Dr. Connn Nixon, an astronomer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Utilizing both Webb and Keck II telescopes, Dr. Nixon and his team observed Titan in November 2022 and July 2023.

These observations revealed cloud formations in the northern and high northern latitudes of Titan, coinciding with its current summer, and indicated that these clouds were gradually rising to higher altitudes.

Previous research identified cloud convection in southern latitudes, marking the first evidence of similar convection in the northern hemisphere.

This finding is crucial, as most of Titan’s lakes and oceans are located in the northern hemisphere, making evaporation from these bodies of water a primary source for methane.

On Earth, the troposphere, the lowest atmospheric layer, extends to about 12 km in altitude.

However, due to Titan’s low gravity, its troposphere stretches to approximately 45 km.

By utilizing various infrared filters, Webb and Keck explored different atmospheric depths on Titan, enabling astronomers to estimate cloud altitudes.

Researchers noted that clouds seemed to migrate to higher altitudes over a few days, although direct observation of precipitation remains elusive.

“Webb’s observation occurred at the end of Titan’s summer, a season we couldn’t monitor during the NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens mission,” remarked ESA researcher Dr. Thomas Cornet.

“Combined with ground-based observations, Webb is providing us with valuable new insights into Titan’s atmosphere. This ESA mission could explore the Saturn system in greater detail in the future.”

Titan is of significant astrobiological interest due to its intricate organic (carbon-containing) chemistry, despite its frigid temperatures of minus 180 degrees Celsius.

Organic molecules are the building blocks of life on Earth, and studying them in an environment like Titan may help scientists uncover the processes that contributed to the emergence of life on our planet.

Methane serves as a fundamental component driving much of Titan’s chemistry.

In Titan’s atmosphere, methane is broken down by sunlight or energetic electrons from Saturn’s magnetosphere, leading to the synthesis of ethane-like substances alongside more complex carbon-containing molecules.

The data from Webb provided a crucial missing piece for comprehending these chemical processes: the definitive detection of methyl radicals (CH)3, which form when methane breaks apart.

Identifying this compound signifies that scientists can now observe chemical reactions occurring on Titan for the first time, not just the initial ingredients or the end products.

“We are very enthusiastic about this world,” said Dr. Stephanie Millam, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

This hydrocarbon chemistry will have lasting implications for Titan’s future.

As methane decomposes in the upper atmosphere, some of it recombines to form other molecules, eventually reaching Titan’s surface in one chemical form or another, while some hydrogen escapes into space.

As a result, methane reserves will diminish over time unless there is a source to replenish them.

A similar phenomenon has occurred on Mars, where water molecules were broken down, and the resulting hydrogen was lost to space, culminating in the arid desert planet we observe today.

“In Titan, methane is continuously consumable,” Dr. Nixon explained.

“It could be constantly replenished from the crust and interior for billions of years.”

“If not, eventually it will all disappear, leaving Titan as a desolate landscape of dust and dunes.”

These findings were published in the journal Natural Astronomy.

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Kanixon et al. The atmosphere of Titan in late northern summer from JWST and Keck’s observations. Nature Astronomy Published online on May 14th, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41550-025-02537-3

Source: www.sci.news

The disappearance of Saturn’s ring is only temporary this weekend

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Saturn’s iconic ring appears to “disappear” for several days starting this weekend, at least from a vantage point on Earth.

The ring does not actually disappear, but for a while the angle between Earth and Saturn creates something like an illusion of the universe, making it seem impossible to see the planetary ring from our perspective.

The reason this happens is related to the specific tilt of both planets. Saturn’s axis tilts 26.73 degrees from vertical to orbit the Sun. This is similar to the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth. According to NASA. Therefore, as each planet rotates on its axis and orbits the Sun, the appearance of Saturn, including the ring, differs from what you see through a telescope or a powerful observatory on Earth.

Occasionally, Saturn’s tilt angle to Earth makes the ring accurately edge-on and appear to have no thin bands.

“They literally almost disappear,” said Sean Walker, associate editor of Sky & Telescope, a monthly magazine on science and amateur astronomy. “You can usually see the ring around Saturn, but with an edge-on view, your hair looks like a thin line of light lying around.”

A Saturn ring photographed by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on May 15, 2017.Cassini-Huygens / NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute

Over the last few months, Saturn’s vast rings have gradually appeared thinner when viewed through a ground-based telescope. By Sunday, the ring will reach its exact edge-on angle.

The illusion is temporary and lasts only a day or two before the ring slowly appears in vision again.

Events are relatively rare. Ring plane crossing – as the phenomenon is known – usually occurs twice during 29.4 years. This means that it can be seen from the Earth once every 13-15 years.

But unfortunately, Saturn is too close to the sun to see what Skywatcher looks like without the ring this weekend. However, another opportunity this year will be the ring will almost be edge-on on November 23rd later this year (not exactly).

Walker said he used a backyard telescope to witness the intersection of the ring plane in 1995.

“It was great,” he said. “It looked like another planet. I spent most of the night just drinking in that view.”

He said at the time he had only just begun to become interested in astronomy.

A Saturn ring photographed by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on November 28, 2016.Cassini-Huygens / NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute

In addition to being a quirky product of geometry, the ring plane crossing occurs due to the structure of Saturn’s ring rings. The iconic accessory consists of billions of swirling rocks and ice blocks, but is relatively flat, making it appear that the ring disappears into thin lines when tilted to the earth.

Edge-on views also make Saturn’s moon more visible, Walker said.

“When there is an intersection of these ring planes, the light that normally reflects the ring of Saturn is no longer glancing towards Earth,” he said. “That means we can detect more small moons.”

Walker said that with a regular backyard telescope, people often can find four to six months around Saturn. People may be able to detect almost 12 people during the ring plane traversing the dark sky.

“The really faint things are on the near perfect line, so it becomes clear,” he said.

After this weekend’s Ring Plain intersection, the next complete will take place in 2038. The event, according to Walker, should be visible to Earth.

“I want to see it again,” he said. “I’ll wait a little bit.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Saturn’s 128-Month Earning Surpasses Combined earnings of Other Planets

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Saturn currently has a total of 274 moons

NASA/JPL/Space Science Research Institute

Another 128 months were discovered, orbiting Saturn, bringing the planet to a total of 274. It's more than what's around all other planets in the solar system. However, astronomers face problems as advances in telescope technology allow them to gradually find small planetary objects.

Edward Ashton Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan and his colleagues have found a new moon with a telescope in Canada, France and Hawaii, revealing dozens who have previously avoided astronomers. They took several hours of imagery of Saturn, adjusted them through the sky for the movement of the planets, stacking them on top of each other, revealing objects that were otherwise too thin to be visible.

All new moons are 2 to 4 kilometres in diameter and could have been formed hundreds of millions or billions of years ago by collisions, Ashton said.

“These are tiny little rocks floating in space, so some people may not be doing anything,” Ashton says. “But I think it's important to have a catalog of all the objects in the solar system.”

The dot at the center of this image is one of the moons of Saturn’s new “fuzzy blob”

Edward Ashton et al. (2025)

Despite the wealth of data collected by his team, these most recent months still only appear as “fuzzy blobs,” Ashton says. There are more powerful telescopes that can solve Moon in more detail, Many people have small areas of vision, but that would mean taking more images, he says.

The newly discovered moon is recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and Ashton and his team You now have the right to name it. Ashton, a Canadian, says he approached representatives of Indigenous Canadian people for suggestions, but also pondered the idea of a kind of public naming contest.

Is there more moons there? Scientists have spent decades scanning the area around Saturn with an increasingly powerful telescope in recent years. In 2019, 20 new moons were found, and Ashton and his colleagues already 62 discovered Apart from the 128 that was recently discovered in 2023. Ultimately, further discoveries are likely to require advances in telescope technology, Ashton believes that thousands of moons are easily found in orbit around Saturn, and even discounting the small rocky remains found in the planet’s rings.

Mike Alexandersen The Minor Planet Center, which records the planetary bodies of the IAU, says there are likely many moons in the solar system, as telescope improvements allow you to see small objects. He says he has to make a decision about what he doesn’t do with the moon.

“I know that the IAU has decided not to prioritize naming anything smaller than a kilometer because of the number of months that are likely to exist. But that’s not the same as they don’t recognize it as the moon,” says Alexandersen. “Only if the spaceship goes to visit it would they name it.”

He suggests that the cutoff between the moon and the rock particles that form part of the planet’s rings is probably between 1 kilometres and 1 meter in diameter. “In the end, it’s probably going to be an IAU, not my decision. And it’s probably going to be a relatively arbitrary kind of thing,” says Alexandersen.

Elizabeth’s Day At Imperial College, London says one day there may even be commercial reasons to have an accurate map of the solar system. “You may want to extract resources from the asteroids and moons in your solar system, so make sure you understand what’s important to that,” says Day.

Kepler’s Renaissance Astronomy in Prague: Czech Republic

Discover the enormous heritage of Renaissance astronomers Johannes Kepler and Taicho Bray.

The article was revised on March 12, 2025

It revealed that Saturn’s total number of months is greater than other planets combined

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Source: www.newscientist.com

A new study suggests that Saturn’s rings could be as ancient as the planet itself

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Saturn’s icy rings may be much older than they appear, as they are resistant to contamination from collisions with rocky debris.

Hyodo others. This suggests that the apparent youthfulness of Saturn’s rings may be due to resistance to pollution, rather than an indication that they were formed at a young age. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Simon, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / MH Wong, University of California, Berkeley / OPAL team.

Saturn’s rings were once thought to be ancient, perhaps forming at the same time as Saturn itself, about 4.5 billion years ago.

Over time, it is thought that the rock and ice particles that make up the ring become dirty and darkened by micrometeorite impacts.

However, when NASA’s Cassini spacecraft reached Saturn in 2004, it observed that Saturn’s rings appeared relatively bright and clean.

“According to the hypothesis that non-icy micrometeorite impacts act to darken Saturn’s rings over time, Saturn’s rings are estimated to be approximately 100 million to 400 million years old. “Cassini observations show that the particles in the rings appear to be relatively clean,” said Dr. Tatsuki Hyodo of Tokyo University of Science and colleagues.

“These younger age estimates assume that the rings formed from pure water ice particles with high accretion efficiency impacting non-ice micrometeorite material.”

In the new study, researchers used a computer model to simulate the collision between a micrometeorite and an ice ring particle.

They found that high-velocity collisions can cause the micrometeorite to evaporate, and that vapor can expand, cool, and condense in Saturn’s magnetic field to form charged nanoparticles and ions.

The researchers’ simulations showed that these charged particles could either collide with Saturn, be dragged into the atmosphere, or escape Saturn’s gravity altogether.

As a result, scientists suggest that little of this material builds up on the rings, keeping them relatively clean.

They say very low pollution levels mean Saturn’s rings are actually billions of years old and are simply maintaining a more youthful appearance. suggests that it is possible.

Although more research is needed, this process may also occur in the rings of Uranus and Neptune, as well as in the icy moons around the giant planets.

“High-velocity collisions leading to the production of charged nanoparticles and ions could potentially occur in places such as the rings of Uranus and Neptune or the icy moons around the giant planets,” the authors said.

“While this mechanism may not change the bulk composition of the impacted target, it suggests that the surface composition may change.”

“Furthermore, the new material from the impactor may not be efficiently incorporated into the satellite’s rings or surface and may be transported elsewhere.”

“Thus, most of the compositional differences observed in the various ring systems of giant planets may be due to their formation processes, for example when building materials come from outside the system, rather than to their post-formation dynamics.” There is a sex.”

of study Published in this week’s magazine natural earth science.

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Takashi Hyodo others. Pollution resistance of Saturn’s ring particles during micrometeoroid impact. nut. earth sciencepublished online on December 16, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41561-024-01598-9

Source: www.sci.news

The age of Saturn’s rings may surpass our previous estimates

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Saturn and its rings photographed by the Cassini spacecraft in 2016

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/Space Science Institute

Modeling studies suggest that Saturn's rings are much older than previously thought and may have formed around the same time as Saturn. But not all astronomers are convinced, and the researchers who were part of the team that calculated that Saturn's rings are relatively young insist that the new findings do not change their findings. are.

For most of the 20th century, scientists believed that Saturn's rings formed with the planet about 4.5 billion years ago. But when NASA's Cassini spacecraft visited Saturn in 2004, it found its rings to be noticeably free of contamination from tiny space rocks known as cosmic dust. This innocent appearance indicated that they were much younger. Estimates for 2023 put their age between 100 million and 400 million years.

now, Ryuki Hyodo in Japan Space Science Institute He and his colleagues calculated that Saturn's rings should be much more resistant to contamination from space dust than previously thought, allowing them to maintain a pristine appearance for long periods of time. Hyodo and his team haven't calculated a new age for the ring, but they suggest it could be as old as Earth, as astronomers once believed.

The researchers then modeled how these particles moved through Saturn's magnetic field, and found that only a small portion settled on the rings, while the majority were drawn into Saturn's atmosphere. It turned out that the object was either destroyed or bounced back into space. “The accretion efficiency of Saturn's rings is only a few percent, which is much smaller than previously assumed,” says Professor Hyodo. This could extend previous ring age estimates by hundreds of millions to billions of years, he said.

Sasha Kemp A member of the team at the University of Colorado Boulder that calculated an earlier, much younger estimate of the age of Saturn's rings, he and his colleagues considered not only the ring's contamination efficiency, but also its contamination efficiency, taking into account the time it would take. He said he used a more complicated method. This is because matter reaches the ring and disappears. The values ​​calculated by Hyodo and his colleagues do not change the overall results for that age, Kempf said. “I'm sure this doesn't mean we really have to go back to square one.”

However, Hyodo argues that times should change dramatically as pollution efficiency declines. “They assumed an efficiency of 10%, but we reported 1%. The equation tells us that it's a billion years, or a billion years.”

Kemp also said that while the new simulation assumes that Saturn's rings are made of solid ice particles, the actual rings are made of soft particles that are much larger in size than what was modeled in the study. He said there was. “If you fire particles into these fairly complex and soft structures, the outcome of such collisions will be very different,” he says.

Hyodo argues that this assumption is standard for many similar studies. “No one knows what kind of effect the difference in ice will have,” says Hyodo. “It may or may not be more efficient.”

Lotfi Ben Jaffer A professor at France's Paris Institute of Astrophysics, who was not involved in either age-estimation study, said the study suggests the rings are not as young as recently claimed. “This is a positive step toward a lack of modeling efforts needed to adequately address the fundamental question of planetary ring system formation and evolution,” he says.

But Hyodo and his team need to improve their modeling to more accurately estimate the ring's contamination, he says, so they can more accurately determine its age.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Titan, Saturn’s moon, boasts both freshwater rivers and saltwater oceans

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Titan’s north polar region, imaged using Cassini’s radar signature, shows blue hydrocarbon oceans.

NASA / JPL-Caltech / Italian Space Agency / USGS

The most detailed look yet at Saturn’s moon Titan’s strange lakes has revealed a diverse marine landscape similar to Earth’s, with a mix of freshwater rivers and saltwater oceans.

Unlike Earth’s watery oceans, Titan’s lakes are composed of methane and ethane, which are liquid at the planet’s average surface temperature, about −179 °C (−290 °F).

Radar measurements from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017, suggested differences in the lakes’ properties, including their composition and surface waves, but the signals didn’t contain enough information to distinguish between them.

now, Valerio Poggiali Poggiali and his colleagues at Cornell University in New York used a different radar technique to map the composition and surface of Titan’s oceans, revealing that the amount of ethane increases as you move south across the planet from the north pole. “The further north you go, the cleaner and purer the oceans become. They’re dominated by methane,” Poggiali says.

Previous radar measurements were made using signals sent and received at the same location on the Cassini spacecraft, which meant the reflected radio waves were polarized in one direction, or twisted.

The new study analyzed signals from Cassini’s radar that were reflected off the lake’s surface and picked up by NASA’s Deep Space Network, a radio antenna on Earth. The shallow angle of the reflected signal meant it contained two different polarized waves, giving Poggiali and his colleagues more information about the lake’s properties.

They found that many of the rivers and estuaries that feed the lake have rough surfaces caused by wind-driven waves, which could be a sign of active tides and currents feeding into the lake, Poggiali said. “Surface activity is very important if we want to plan future missions like a Titan submarine, but also to better understand Titan’s environment in terms of wind and atmospheric properties.”

Poggiali and his colleagues also found that the methane content was higher before the river flowed into the lake, which could help trace the methane and ethane cycle on Titan, Poggiali says. Ingo Muller-Wodarg “On Earth, when rivers flow into large, salty oceans, we find that the water becomes less saline near where the river flows in,” say researchers from Imperial College London. “Something similar is happening here, but it’s not the salinity that’s the problem, it’s the relative proportions of methane and ethane.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

What caused the haziness on Saturn’s moon Titan?

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Ever wondered if any moons in the solar system have a dense atmosphere like Earth? Currently, scientists believe that Saturn’s moon Titan is the only one with such an atmosphere. Despite being 2.5 times smaller than Earth, Titan has an atmospheric pressure 1.5 times greater than Earth’s. Studies of Titan’s atmosphere from outside the solar system have shown that it consists of around 94% nitrogen, 6% methane, 0.1% hydrogen, and small amounts of complex organic molecules. The Huygens mission data provides more insight into this.

Initially, scientists thought that Titan’s haze formed through the breakdown and recombination of nitrogen and methane by sunlight. However, this explanation couldn’t account for the presence of complex organic molecules which require high temperatures to form. Recent research suggests that these molecules may have originated during a meteorite impact event in Titan’s atmosphere, particularly due to the proximity of Titan to Saturn’s E ring which disperses organic material from moons like Enceladus.

To test this new theory, researchers at Princeton University created a model to predict the formation of molecules during meteorite impacts in Titan’s atmosphere. By combining data from observations of Saturn’s rings and Titan’s atmospheric chemistry from the Huygens probe, they estimated the types of organic molecules that could result from these impacts. They found that only meteorites larger than 0.02 grams could trigger such events in Titan’s atmosphere, with material mostly originating from atolls surrounding the solar system.

The team also identified a hot zone known as the “Cylindrical shock wave” around the falling meteorite, reaching temperatures of 10,000 K. This wave could facilitate the synthesis of complex organic molecules at lower temperatures in the region surrounding the impact. Meteorites falling from Enceladus are suggested to contribute significantly to Titan’s organic-rich haze layer, particularly at altitudes where shock waves are most efficient in synthesizing organic molecules.

The researchers proposed that observations from future missions, such as Dragonfly, could further validate their models by studying the frequency of medium-sized meteorite impacts on Titan. These observations could provide more insights into the formation of Titan’s unique atmosphere and iconic haze layer.


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Source: sciworthy.com

The Methane Ocean on Saturn’s Moon Titan is Causing Coastal Erosion

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Titan's liquid hydrocarbon ocean may have waves

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/University of Idaho

Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has rocky coastlines around its methane seas and lakes that appear to have been carved out by waves, and a NASA mission launching in 2028 may be able to get a closer look.

Titan is the only body in the solar system other than Earth that has liquid on its surface. It has lakes and oceans made of hydrocarbons such as liquid methane, ethane, and other organic molecules. Scientists think that winds in Titan's thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere drive the waves in these lakes, but this has never been observed directly because Titan's atmosphere is too hazy to see through.

now, Rose Palermo Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey in Florida and their colleagues found that the shape of Titan's coastline is best explained by the presence of waves that have eroded the ocean surface over eons.

Palermo and his team looked at the shorelines around Titan's largest oceans and lakes, including Kraken Mare and Ligeia Mare, and compared them to coastlines on Earth with known origins, such as Lake Rotoef in New Zealand, which initially formed by floods and later was eroded by waves. The team then created different simulations of Titan's oceans, including those in which the shores were eroded by waves or by dissolving their edges.

Photographed by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, Ligeia Mare on Saturn's moon Titan has a variety of edges that appear to have been carved by waves.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/Cornell

The researchers found that images of Titan's coastline, best depicted by wave simulations, resemble Earth's wave-eroded coastlines.

“It's still tentative, but I'm very excited about it.” Ingo Muller-Vodarg The Imperial College London researchers say that although the study did not observe waves themselves, it is very strong evidence that waves exist. Dune-like structures.

The only way to truly verify that waves exist is to send a spacecraft to the surface, like NASA's Dragonfly drone mission, scheduled to launch in 2028, Mueller-Vaudergues said.

Studying Titan's coastlines may also help us understand how the first coasts on Earth formed, Palermo says: “Titan is a unique laboratory for studying coastal processes because it is not influenced by humans or plants. It's a place where we can study coasts only as physical processes.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Study suggests Mimas, one of Saturn’s moons, could be responsible for forming Earth’s oceans beneath its icy shell

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From a detailed analysis of Mimas’s orbital motion based on data from NASA’s Cassini mission, planetary researchers from the Sorbonne, the University of Nantes, Queen Mary University of London, Franche-Comte University, and Jinan University have discovered that the heavily cratered They showed that some ice shells hide recently formed ice shells. (less than 2-3 million years ago) global ocean 20-30 km deep.

The surface of Mimas, like the surfaces of other major Saturn moons that do not have atmospheres, is not pure ice but contains some black impurities. Relatively dark markings appear along the lower part of the walls of the 130km-wide Herschel Crater (the crater's central peak is about the same height as Mount Everest); the impact may have all but destroyed the Moon. there is). some small craters. Scientists interpret the darkening as evidence that the impurities have gradually become concentrated as icy material evaporates in areas where they are slowly sliding down the crater walls. Image credit: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute.

There is growing evidence that some moons may have oceans beneath their surfaces, but such watery worlds are difficult to detect.

Mimas — Saturn's innermost and smallest (radius = 198.2 km, or 123 miles) regular moon — is an unlikely candidate due to the different nature of its surface compared to other icy moons such as Enceladus .

This theory has been challenged by Sorbonne University researcher Valerie Rainey and others who are evaluating Cassini's observations of small satellites.

Previous research suggests two possibilities inside Mimas. It is either an elongated rocky core or a global ocean.

A new study reveals that the small moon's rotational motion and orbit change due to internal influences.

For the solid-state model to apply, the rock core must be elongated and approximately pancake-shaped, which is inconsistent with observations.

Rather, measurements of Mimas' position suggest that the evolution of its orbit is better explained as influenced by an internal ocean.

The researchers calculate that the ocean lies beneath an ice shell about 20 to 30 kilometers deep.

Their simulations suggest that it appeared between 25 and 2 million years ago.

Therefore, signs of such an underground ocean would not have had time to leave traces on the surface.

This result suggests that recent processes on Mimas may have been common during the early stages of the formation of other ice worlds.

“Mimas was a small moon with a cratered surface and no sign of an ocean hidden beneath,” said co-author Nick Cooper, a researcher at Queen Mary University of London. the doctor said.

“With this discovery, Mimas joins an exclusive club of moons with inland oceans, including Enceladus and Europa, but with a unique difference: its oceans are surprisingly young.”

of study Published in today's magazine Nature.

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V. Rainey other. 2024. A recently formed ocean within Saturn's moon Mimas. Nature 626, 280-282; doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06975-9

Source: www.sci.news

Possible Vast Global Ocean Discovered Beneath Ice on Saturn’s Moon Mimas

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Mimas photographed by NASA's Cassini spacecraft

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/Space Science I

Saturn's moon Mimas appears to have a vast global ocean beneath its icy shell, according to detailed measurements of its orbit. If other icy worlds have similar oceans, the number of planets that can support life could increase.

Mimas is the smallest of Saturn's seven major moons. For a long time, it was thought that most of it was composed of solid ice and rock, but in 2014 astronomers observed that the orbit around Saturn was unexpectedly wobbling, suggesting that this could only be explained by either a rugby ball-shaped nucleus or a liquid ocean.

Many astronomers rejected the ocean explanation, as the friction required to melt the ice would have caused visible marks on Mimas's surface. However, recent simulations suggest that this ocean may exist even without such traces.

Looking for more clues? Valerie Rainey Researchers from France's Paris Observatory analyzed observations of Mimas' orbit by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. They found that the orbit around Saturn has shifted by about 10 kilometers over 13 years.

According to the team's calculations, this orbital drift could only have been caused by an ice shell sliding over the ocean, or by wobbles from the physically impossible pancake-shaped core.

The moon's elliptical orbit and lack of surface markings also suggest that the ocean is about 30 kilometers deep and formed less than 25 million years ago. “It was very recent,” Rainey says. “We are more or less witnessing the birth of this global ocean.”

This recent activity could help explain not only the lack of traces on the surface, but also why the moon is so different from its neighbors. Enceladus has a similar shape and orbit to Mimas, and has a global ocean, but it also has a very active surface and giant spout. Rainey said the difference is simply a difference in time, and in a few million years Mimas' ice could melt and it could look similar to Enceladus.

“It would be surprising if that were true,” he says. William McKinnon at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. But he says there are still things that aren't perfectly aligned, such as the vast 80-mile-wide Herschel crater, which was formed by a giant impact. If Mimas' ice shell was truly only tens of kilometers deep, McKinnon said, we would have seen evidence of a distorted crater floor in the impact and aftermath. It's also unlikely, he says, that you'll be able to get a front-row seat at such a short and unique time in Mimas' long history. “I remain a Mimas ocean skeptic,” McKinnon says.

However, if Mimas has a hidden ocean, it suggests that other icy planets and moons in the solar system and elsewhere may have the same, expanding the possibility of life. “It's expanding our vision of what is and isn't a habitable world,” Rainey says. “Mimas teaches us that even a corpse that seems to have no life in it may someday come to life.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Porous iceberg on Saturn’s moon Titan believed to be a strange ‘magical island’

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Infrared image of Saturn’s icy moon Titan

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/Stephane Le Mouelik, Virginia Pasek

Saturn’s moon Titan is home to strange “magical islands” that appear and disappear over hours to weeks. These so-called islands are actually porous, sponge-like masses of snow that can slowly fill with liquid before sinking.

Titan’s thick atmosphere is filled with complex organic molecules that can clump together and fall to the moon’s surface like snow. Sintin Yu Researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio thought that snow could be the cause of the magical islands. To test their idea, they took advantage of what we know about these atmospheric compounds and how they are expected to interact with Titan’s oceans.

Titan’s liquid is methane, not water, so any solids on the surface of these oceans would normally be expected to sink quickly. Water molecules tend to stick together and displace other substances, but methane easily sticks to other molecules, so the surface tension of a pool of liquid methane is very low.

“Water molecules just love themselves by excluding certain molecules,” he says. michael marasca from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California was not involved in the study. “But if you put methane on the same surface, it’ll start crawling all over the place.” That means Titan’s methane oceans and lakes should immediately swallow up any solids that are expected to float. It means that.

But that clearly won’t happen on the magical island, which appeared as a temporary bright spot in observations from the Cassini spacecraft. “For us to see magical islands, they cannot float briefly and then immediately sink,” Yu said in the paper. statement. “You have to stay afloat for a while, but not forever.” Researchers have found a solution to this problem. When large amounts of snow accumulate on the coast, they can form sponge-like, porous ice. Once these porous “icebergs” separated from the land, they could float in Titan’s oceans for long enough to rival Cassini’s observations. The researchers calculated that this would work if the sponge-like structure contained enough free space (at least about 25 to 50 percent, depending on the exact composition of the ice).

However, this does not mean that these mysterious islands are definitely porous icebergs. “We’re narrowing down different scenarios for the magical island, but we don’t know the answer yet,” Malasca says. Other possible explanations include nitrogen gas bubbles, waves caused by wind or solid ocean deposits. However, this provides evidence that Titan’s temporary islands may actually be suspended matter from this strange world’s atmosphere.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Porous iceberg on Saturn’s moon Titan may be a mysterious ‘magical island’

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Infrared image of Saturn’s icy moon Titan

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/Stephane Le Mouelik, Virginia Pasek

Saturn’s moon Titan is home to strange “magical islands” that appear and disappear over hours to weeks. These so-called islands are actually porous, sponge-like masses of snow that can slowly fill with liquid before sinking.

Titan’s thick atmosphere is filled with complex organic molecules that can clump together and fall to the moon’s surface like snow. Sintin Yu Researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio thought that snow could be the cause of the magical islands. To test their idea, they took advantage of what we know about these atmospheric compounds and how they are expected to interact with Titan’s oceans.

Titan’s liquid is methane, not water, so any solids on the surface of these oceans would normally be expected to sink quickly. Water molecules tend to stick together and displace other substances, but methane easily sticks to other molecules, so the surface tension of a pool of liquid methane is very low.

“Water molecules just love themselves by excluding certain molecules,” he says. michael marasca from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California was not involved in the study. “But if you put methane on the same surface, it will start crawling all over the place.” That means Titan’s methane oceans and lakes should immediately swallow up any solids that are expected to float. It means that.

But that clearly won’t happen on the magical island, which appeared as a temporary bright spot in observations from the Cassini spacecraft. “For us to see magical islands, they cannot float briefly and then immediately sink,” Yu said in the paper. statement. “You have to stay afloat for a while, but not forever.”

Researchers have found a solution to this problem. When large amounts of snow accumulate on the coast, they can form sponge-like, porous ice. Once these porous “icebergs” separated from the land, they could float in Titan’s oceans for long enough to rival Cassini’s observations. The researchers calculated that this would work if the sponge-like structure contained enough free space (at least about 25 to 50 percent, depending on the exact composition of the ice).

However, this does not mean that these mysterious islands are definitely porous icebergs. “We’re narrowing down different scenarios for the magical island, but we don’t know the answer yet,” Malasca says. Other possible explanations include nitrogen gas bubbles, waves caused by wind or solid ocean deposits. However, this provides evidence that Titan’s temporary islands may actually be suspended matter from this strange world’s atmosphere.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

‘Saturn’s Rings Revealed: Hubble Space Telescope Discovers Intriguing ‘Spokes’ within’

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Saturn, a gas giant, is known for its iconic ring system. But its B ring may have spots or streaks of denser or brighter material known as spokes, which may be related to the dust’s interaction with the planet’s magnetic field. A new image of Saturn taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on October 22, 2023 reveals the spokes of its rings.

This Hubble image shows Saturn, its bright white rings, and its three moons: Mimas, Dione, and Enceladus. Features on the left and right spokes of the ring appear as faint gray smudges against the ring’s bright background, approximately halfway from the planet to the ring’s outer edge. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / STScI / Amy Simon, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Saturn’s spokes (so named because they resemble bicycle spokes) are temporary features that rotate with the rings.

Their ghostly appearance only lasts for two or three revolutions around the giant planet.

During the active period, newly formed spokes continually add to the pattern.

ring spokes first photographed by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1981.

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft also discovered Spoke during its 13-year mission that ended in 2017.

Hubble continues to observe Saturn every year as its spokes come and go. This cycle is captured by Hubble’s Outer Planet Atmospheric Legacy (OPAL) program, which was launched nearly a decade ago to annually monitor weather changes on all four gas giants.

Hubble’s clear images show that the frequency of the spokes’ appearance is seasonal, and they appeared in the OPAL data for the first time in 2021, but only on the morning side of the ring.

Long-term monitoring has shown that both the number and contrast of spokes change with Saturn’s seasons.

“We’re heading towards the Saturn equinox, when the spoke activity is expected to be at its peak, and we’re going to have a lot of activity in the coming months,” said Dr. Amy Simon, an astronomer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and chief scientist at the space flight center. “Over the years we will see higher frequencies and darker spokes.” opal program.

“This year, these ephemeral structures will appear on both sides of the Earth simultaneously, rotating around the giant world.”

“Although it appears small compared to Saturn, its length and width could extend beyond the diameter of Earth.”

“The leading theory is that the spokes are connected to Saturn’s strong magnetic field, and that the sun has some kind of interaction with that field that creates the spokes.”

“As we approach Saturn’s vernal equinox, Saturn and its rings tilt less away from the Sun.”

“In this configuration, the solar wind could hit Saturn’s massive magnetic field even harder, promoting spoke formation.”

“Planetary scientists believe that the electrostatic forces generated by this interaction cause the dust and ice to float above the ring, forming the spokes, but even after decades, no theory has been able to fully predict the formation of the spokes. I won’t.”

“Continuing Hubble observations may ultimately help solve the mystery.”

Source: www.sci.news

Potential presence of cyanide in the ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus could aid in sustaining life

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Illustration of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft diving through the plume of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology

The plumes of water vapor spewing from Enceladus’ surface appear to contain hydrogen cyanide, which, perhaps counterintuitively, suggests that there may be life in the oceans beneath the surface of this icy moon of Saturn. It shows that it is possible.

The Cassini spacecraft flew through Enceladus’ plume several times in the early 2000s, capturing samples as it hurtled past. Preliminary analyzes of these samples have revealed several elements and compounds that may be important for life, but many are not, as the molecules tend to fracture after impacting Cassini’s sampling chamber at high speeds. It has been difficult to identify specific compounds.

Jonah Peter Researchers at Harvard University performed a reanalysis of the Cassini data using new statistical methods and were able to extract more compounds present in the plume. They found evidence of several previously undetected compounds, including hydrogen cyanide, acetylene, ethane, and even trace amounts of the alcohol methanol.

All of these compounds could be part of chemical reactions important to life, but hydrogen cyanide is particularly promising.

“We still don’t have a complete picture of the molecules that are there and are necessary for the origin of life. We don’t even know how the origin of life occurred on Earth,” Peter said. say. “But we know a lot about some of the building blocks that are necessary for the beginning of life, and hydrogen cyanide is one of those very versatile building blocks.”

We know that it can be a building block for amino acids, RNA, and other large biomolecules, so its presence in the plume points to the possibility of life in Enceladus’ subsurface ocean. That’s a good sign.

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Source: www.newscientist.com