S is for Saturn's Rings and Moonlets

The Cassini spacecraft that has been orbiting Saturn for two plus years now has made a number of significant discoveries. The latest sheds light on the amazing ring system. Scientists have debated the origin of this phenomenon, and how the various rings maintain their integrity. Earlier discoveries included tiny moons (4 to 19 miles wide) that cleared out spaces between some of the rings, and kept the boundaries defined. Now, tinier moonlets have been identified.

The newest announcement indicates that in addition to the majority of the rings particles (I say particles, but they range from a half-inch diameter to the size of a small house), there are larger, intermediate sized objects smaller than the shepherding moons. These moonlets have the diameter of a football field (100 meters); too small to clear a path, but large enough to cause disturbances or waves in the rings. Scientists estimate that there are about 10 million of these objects - it is amazing just how big these rings are!

The moonlets can leave propeller shaped wakes as they travel amongst the smaller particles. Many believe that their existence is further proof that a much larger moon was broken apart to become the spectacular band that orbits Saturn today.

This is just the latest Cassini discovery. The distant probe has also performed some spectacular science on Saturn's many moons. One was recently discovered to have volcanoes that spout water and ice. More to come!