Saturn's Moon Rhea Sports a Dusty Halo

User rating: 4.6 / 5 after 7 vote(s)

This is an artist concept of the ring of debris that may orbit Saturns second-largest moon Rhea. The suggested disk of solid material is exaggerated in density here for clarity. Credit: NASAJPLJHUAPL
This is an artist concept of the ring of debris that may orbit Saturn's second-largest moon, Rhea. The suggested disk of solid material is exaggerated in density here for clarity. Credit: NASA/JPL/JHUAPL

Who'd have guessed that Saturn has its own moon-sized vacuum cleaners, circling the ringed planet and sucking up electrons from the plasma at the orbit of the icy moons. Or that one of Saturn's moons has its very own vacuum in the form of a hitherto-unknown dust halo, not quite visible as a ring, around the midsection of Rhea, discovered by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Cassini is carrying among its instruments a pair of ion-mass and ion-beam spectrometers built by Los Alamos National Laboratory.


Full story »
All News summaries from Space & Earth science news
All News summaries for March 06, 2008

NASA presses ahead for Mars rover launch in 2009

2 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(AP) -- NASA has decided to press ahead with plans to launch a big new rover to Mars next year. Friday's decision comes after concerns were raised about the budget and technical progress for the Mars Science ...

Palm oil clearing swathes of forest in Indonesia's Papua: Greenpeace

5 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Palm oil companies are clearing massive swathes of untouched forest in Indonesia's remote easternmost Papua region, environmental group Greenpeace said Friday.

Researchers Study Coastal Hazards of Increasing Wave Heights, Rising Sea Levels

6 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- While hurricanes Gustav and Ike were pummeling the Gulf Coast with rains and record flooding, researchers at Oregon State University were studying why wave heights in the Pacific Ocean have been increasing ...

Scientists resolve long-standing puzzle in climate science

6 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team led by Livermore scientists has helped reconcile the differences between simulated and observed temperature trends in the tropics.

Mars Odyssey Shifting Orbit for Extended Mission

6 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- The longest-serving of six spacecraft now studying Mars is up to new tricks for a third two-year extension of its mission to examine the most Earthlike of known foreign planets.
Goto Archive PhysOrg Forum Goto Archive Video Goto Archive Editorials Goto Archive Free Magazines Goto Archive Newsletter

News Archive