Summary:
The gravitational pull of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, causes tsunamis in one of Saturn's rings. This discovery may solve the 30-year-old mystery of a gap in Saturn's faint, inner C ring. In 1980 they saw the regular ripple of the rings was interupted by a gap in the C ring. They could tell that there was a gap because light was shining through it. The gap is only a third of a mile long. Spiraling walls of icy particals get in the way of the gap. This makes the gap look like different sizes at different angles. It sometimes makes it look like a peak. They say each peak seems to look like a tsunami. Some smaller gaps in the rings are from paths made by moons in Saturn's rings. This big gap in the C ring was found to be from the gravitational pull of Saturn's moon, Titan. The gravity pulls the ice particals in Saturn's rings causing the gap. During Saturn's equinox the gap shines in an arc. They say this is a very interesting case about Saturn's rings.
Opinion/Reflection:
I think this is a very interesting discovery about Saturn's rings. The gravitational pull must be pretty strong to cause this big of a gap in Saturn's rings. It is pretty amazing how big this gap is. I also think that it is cool that the gap shines during Saturn's equinox. That would be an interesting site to see. I hope that scientists can learn more about this discovery of the gap in Saturn's rings so that people can learn more about the gap. This is a very interesting discovery.
Questions:
1. Do you think that the gap in Saturn's rings will grow bigger in the future? Why?
2. Do you think it would be interesting to see the shine from the gap? Why or why not?
3. How long do you think the gap will last in Saturn's rings? Explain.
That is so interesting about there being a gap in Saturn's rings. With it being so thin, it certainly could be overlooked easily. And then with the wall of ice makes it more difficult to tell whether its a peak or if its a gap.
ReplyDelete1. Since there are a lot of moons at Saturn, there is no doubt that there will be more gaps created from the gravitational pull. The gaps will just just get bigger until there are barely any rings left, but that will be millions of years in the future.
This link shows a picture explaining how Saturn's rings are affected by the tsunami that the moons are causing.
http://www.aolnews.com/science/article/scientists-spot-tsunamis-in-saturns-rings/19666877
It's really cool that the scientists are paying attention to other planets and discovering an amazing thing like this. It's nice to know that the gravitational force is really strong influence the planet. It would be better if the scientists researched more specifically on what the ring has, either if it's a gap or a peak.
ReplyDelete3. I think the Saturn ring's gap will last a long time, and the gap possibly might grow in the long run because the gravitational force can get stronger.
http://www.nightskynation.com/pics/moons-titan.jpg
This is a link to a picture showing the Saturn's moon, Titan which is forcing a gap on one of the Saturn's rings.
It's fascinating that a moon so much smaller compared to Saturn, is affecting such a big thing like the rings on Saturn. The orange moon's gravitaional pull affected the C ring causing tsunamis to form in the ring like our moon affecting the tides with its gravitational pull. I think it was an amazing discovery to find the gap and the peak looking tsunamis. I hope the researchers look up the finding in more precise detail so we can know about it a little more.
ReplyDelete1) I think the gap will become bigger in the future because there will be more gravitational pull from the moon, Titan. It will keep growing until the moon is gone or goes astray. The moon will have to be not there in order for it to stop. I think it will get bigger also until there are no more particals to orbit Saturn.
This link here will show a picture of Saturn and its rings. It shows how Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is affecting the ring.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/10/saturn-ring-tsunami/
This is a very important scientific discovery. This shows us that like Earth's moon, other moons affect things on or near their host planet. Our moon affects the tides on Earth and Saturn's moon affects the rings in a way to make areas seem like giant tides or tsunamis.
ReplyDelete2) Yes, I think it would be interesting to see the shine from the gap. I think that it might reflect the colors of the rings and would look somewhat like an aurora.
Here's a link to another article about it:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/10/saturn-ring-tsunami/