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| Picture taken from Voyager. The colors are to depict different chemical make-up of the rings. |
Hallie Stolte
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| Picture from NASA Cassini Mission |
Overview
Saturn is a gas giant that is the second largest planet in
our solar system after Jupiter. It is mostly known for its incredible rings.
There are 53 confirmed moons and 9 potential moons. The Saturn system
is very complex because the moons orbit with in the rings and are an
integral part of ring system. Some of the moons are called "shepherd moons" because they orbit within the rings and interact in a way that causes the ring
material to be guided into a certain position. The Cassini mission was launched
in 1997 and has recently discovered a lot about the moons and rings of Saturn. Part of the mission was to drop a probe on to one of Saturn's moons, Titan. This has lead to many discoveries about Titan. One important discovery is how similar is is to Earth. Scientist are using Titian to model the early stages of
Earth’s development.
Enceladus
Enceladus is one of Saturn’s moons located in Saturn’s
outermost ring (the E-ring). It has recently become and important moon because
of the Cassini mission. Uniquely, this moon is known for it its icy volcanic
activity. The Cassini mission discovered that this icy material was
contributing to the formation of the E-ring. The material comes from under the
surface of the moon and is ejected out into the atmosphere of the moon and even
ejected beyond the atmosphere. The material that doesn’t leave the atmosphere
falls back to the moon like snow, and the material that does escape contributes
to the material in the E-ring. Following this discovery, the Cassini mission
discovered that some of the E-ring material contained sodium salts. It was then
theorized that the jets of Enceladus came from a liquid source that lay under
the surface of the moon. The sodium salts gave way to the idea that this liquid
source was actually a salt-water ocean.
Rings
Galileo first saw the rings of Saturn in 1610. The rings
were named using alphabetical letters as they were discovered. Each ring orbits
at a different speed around Saturn because of Kepler’s third law. Each ring
also has its own unique make up and density. The rings span about 200 times the
diameter of Saturn. They are composed of frozen material that originated from
of asteroids, dust, and broken moons. Before the Cassini mission, “ghostly”
shadows were spotted on the rings. These shadows are called spokes and have
just recently started to be understood with the Cassini mission. The spokes
form in a matter of minutes and only last for a few hours. They are still not
well known, and scientists hope to learn more about their cause with Cassini.
Questions: (To answer some of these questions you will have
to explore the links above)
What is the order of the rings starting with the ring
closets to Saturn?
a. A, B, C, D, E,
F, G
b. G, F, E, D, C,
B, A
c. D, C, B, A, F,
G, E
d. C, A, F, G, D,
B, E
Which is not true regarding the moons of Saturn? (Use this link)
a. Titan is so massive that its gravity affects other moons orbits
a. Titan is so massive that its gravity affects other moons orbits
b. Some of the moons orbit in the opposite direction as
everything else.
c. Half of Lapetus is
very dark while the other side is very bright.
d. Titan is the
largest moon in the solar system
Which statement about Enceladus is not true?
a. Its jets
contribute to the formation of Saturn's E-ring
b. It is located in
the E-ring
c. It might have a salt-water ocean beneath its surface
c. It might have a salt-water ocean beneath its surface
d. It has eruptions
of icy material
e. All statements are true
e. All statements are true
In the mosaic infrared mapping of Titan there are orange
spots. What do these represent?
a. Lakes
b. Volcanic activity
c. Evaporated Material
d. Bedrock of water and ice
When were the spokes first seen? (use this link)
a. In 1997, when the Cassini was launched
a. In 1997, when the Cassini was launched
b. In 2004, when
Cassini began to orbit
c. In 1979, with the
pioneer
d. In 1981, with the
Voyager 2 flyby
Browse the gallery in the NASA website.
What is the rose?
a. An anomaly on Saturn’s B-ring
b. A vortex on Saturn’s pole
c. A dust cloud in the Saturn system
d. A storm on Titan
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