http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/saturn/ Saturn News. Learn all about Saturn. Read astronomy articles on Saturn's ring spokes, Saturn's moons, even Titan's sand dunes. Pictures. en-us Fri, 16 May 2008 20:05:01 EDT Fri, 16 May 2008 20:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/saturn/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429174658.htm As a powerful electrical storm rages on Saturn with lightning bolts 10,000 times more powerful than those found on Earth, the Cassini spacecraft continues its five-month watch over the dramatic events. Scientists with NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission have been tracking the visibly bright, lightning-generating storm--the longest continually observed electrical storm ever monitored by Cassini. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429174658.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415133647.htm NASA is extending the international Cassini-Huygens mission by two years. The historic spacecraft's stunning discoveries and images have revolutionized our knowledge of Saturn and its moons. Cassini's mission originally had been scheduled to end in July 2008. The newly-announced two-year extension will include 60 additional orbits of Saturn and more flybys of its exotic moons. These will include 26 flybys of Titan, seven of Enceladus, and one each of Dione, Rhea and Helene. The extension also includes studies of Saturn's rings, its complex magnetosphere, and the planet itself. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415133647.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080326151729.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft tasted and sampled a surprising organic brew erupting in geyser-like fashion from Saturn's moon Enceladus during a close flyby on March 12. Scientists are amazed that this tiny moon is so active, "hot" and brimming with water vapor and organic chemicals. Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080326151729.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150828.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has discovered evidence that points to the existence of an underground ocean of water and ammonia on Saturn's moon Titan. The findings made using radar measurements of Titan's rotation will appear in the March 21 issue of the journal Science. Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150828.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313213204.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft performed a daring flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus on March 12, flying about 15 kilometers per second (32,000 mph) through icy water geyser-like jets. The spacecraft snatched up precious samples that might point to a water ocean or organics inside the little moon. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313213204.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310171102.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft will make an unprecedented "in your face" flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus on Wed., March 12. The spacecraft, orchestrating its closest approach to date, will skirt along the edges of huge Old-Faithful-like geysers erupting from giant fractures on the south pole of Enceladus. Cassini will sample scientifically valuable water-ice, dust and gas in the plume. The source of the geysers is of great interest to scientists who think liquid water, perhaps even an ocean, may exist in the area. Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310171102.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306160209.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found evidence of material orbiting Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon. This is the first time rings may have been found around a moon. A broad debris disk and at least one ring appear to have been detected by a suite of six instruments on Cassini specifically designed to study the atmospheres and particles around Saturn and its moons. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306160209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220195614.htm Gaps in the soup of high energy particles near the orbits of two of Saturn's tiny moons indicate that Saturn may be surrounded by undiscovered, near-invisible partial rings. And, the larger Saturnian moons may not be the only ones contributing material to Saturn's ring system. Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220195614.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080222112324.htm An enormous plume of dust and water spurts violently into space from the south pole of Enceladus, Saturn's sixth-largest moon. This raging eruption has intrigued scientists ever since the Cassini spacecraft provided dramatic images of the phenomenon. Now a physicist has revealed why the dust particles in the plume emerge more slowly than the water vapour escaping from the moon's icy crust. Enceladus orbits in Saturn's outermost "E" ring. It is one of only three outer solar system bodies that produce active eruptions of dust and water vapour. Moreover, aside from the Earth, Mars, and Jupiter's moon Europa, it is one of the only places in the solar system for which astronomers have direct evidence of the presence of water. Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080222112324.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220200045.htm Saturn's orange moon Titan has hundreds of times more liquid hydrocarbons than all the known oil and natural gas reserves on Earth, according to new data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The hydrocarbons rain from the sky, collecting in vast deposits that form lakes and dunes. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220200045.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080219122014.htm Despite the incredible diversity of Saturn's icy moons, theirs is a story of great interaction. Some of them are pock-marked, some seemingly dirty, others pristine, one spongy, one two-faced, some still spewing with activity and some seeming to be captured from the far reaches of the solar system. Yet many of them have a common thread -- black "stuff" coating their surfaces. "We are beginning to unravel the mysteries of these different and strange moons," said Rosaly Lopes, Cassini scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. She coordinated a special section of 14 papers about Saturn's icy moons that appears in the February issue of the journal Icarus. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080219122014.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080212143619.htm One of Saturn's rings does housecleaning, soaking up material gushing from the fountains on Saturn's tiny ice moon Enceladus, according to new observations from the Cassini spacecraft. This is the latest surprising phenomenon associated with the ice geysers of Enceladus to be discovered or confirmed by Cassini scientists. Earlier, the geysers were found to be responsible for the content of the E-ring. Next, the whole magnetic environment of Saturn was found to be weighed down by the material spewing from Enceladus, which becomes plasma -- a gas of electrically charged particles. Now, Cassini scientists confirm that the plasma, which creates a donut-shaped cloud around Saturn, is being snatched by Saturn's A-ring, which acts like a giant sponge where the plasma is absorbed. Sun, 17 Feb 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080212143619.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220223729.htm Astronomers have discovered and analyzed mountains on Saturn's largest moon, additional evidence that it has some of the most earthlike processes of any celestial body in the solar system. Titan's mountains are most likely made of water ice and are relatively small in height, at most 2 km (1.25 mi) from base to peak. Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220223729.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071217155253.htm Enceladus, the tiny satellite of Saturn, is colder than ice, but data gathered by the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan has detected a hot spot that could mean there is life in the old moon after all. The hot spot is causing plumes of ice and vapor to arise above Enceladus, say astronomers. If there is water on Enceladus, could there be life? Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071217155253.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071213101426.htm New observations by NASA's Cassini spacecraft indicate the rings of Saturn, once thought to have formed during the age of the dinosaurs, instead may have been created roughly 4.5 billion years ago when the solar system was still under construction. The rings may last for billions of years, according to new research. Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071213101426.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071128151808.htm Scientists analyzing data gathered by the Cassini spacecraft have confirmed the presence of heavy negative ions in the upper regions of Titan's atmosphere. These particles may act as organic building blocks for even more complicated molecules and their discovery was completely unexpected because of the chemical composition of the atmosphere (which lacks oxygen and mainly consists of nitrogen and methane). The observation has now been verified on 16 different encounters. Thu, 29 Nov 2007 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071128151808.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024130432.htm A narrow belt harboring moonlets as large as football stadiums discovered in Saturn's outermost ring probably resulted when a larger moon was shattered by a wayward asteroid or comet eons ago, according to a new study. The unseen moonlets range in size from moving vans to domed sports arenas. Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024130432.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071008145004.htm NASA scientists are on the trail of Iapetus' mysterious dark side, which seems to be home to a bizarre "runaway" process that is transporting vaporized water ice from the dark areas to the white areas of the Saturnian moon. This "thermal segregation" model may explain many details of the moon's strange and dramatically two-toned appearance, which have been revealed exquisitely in images collected during a recent close flyby of Iapetus by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071008145004.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071002114345.htm If space travelers ever visit Saturn's largest moon, they will find a 'tropical' world where temperatures plunge to minus 274 degrees Fahrenheit, methane rains from the sky and dunes of ice or tar cover the planet's most arid regions. These conditions reflect a cold mirror image of Earth's tropical climate, according to scientists at the University of Chicago. Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071002114345.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070824130101.htm Images taken by Cassini's Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI) show that Saturn's ring current is a warped disc that balloons out of the equatorial plane on the planet's dayside and remains a thin disk that rises above the plane at larger distances on the nightside. Sun, 26 Aug 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070824130101.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070803113335.htm Cassini scientists may have identified the source of one of Saturn's more mysterious rings. Saturn's G ring likely is produced by relatively large, icy particles that reside within a bright arc on the ring's inner edge. The particles are confined within the arc by gravitational effects from Saturn's moon Mimas. Micro-meteoroids collide with the particles, releasing smaller, dust-sized particles that brighten the arc. The plasma in the giant planet's magnetic field sweeps through this arc continually, dragging out the fine particles, which create the G ring. Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070803113335.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070719194206.htm Scientists have recently discovered that the planet Saturn is turning 60 - not years, but moons. "We detected the 60th moon orbiting Saturn using the Cassini spacecraft's powerful wide-angle camera," said Carl Murray, a Cassini imaging team scientist. "I was looking at images of the region near the Saturnian moons Methone and Pallene and something caught my eye." Thu, 19 Jul 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070719194206.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070705125818.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has revealed for the first time surface details of Saturn's moon Hyperion, including cup-like craters filled with hydrocarbons that may indicate more widespread presence in our solar system of basic chemicals necessary for life. Hyperion yielded some of its secrets to the battery of instruments aboard Cassini as the spacecraft flew close by in September 2005. Water and carbon dioxide ices were found, as well as dark material that fits the spectral profile of hydrocarbons. Fri, 06 Jul 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070705125818.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070614112935.htm Saturn's moons Tethys and Dione are flinging great streams of particles into space, according to data from the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini mission to Saturn. The discovery suggests the possibility of some sort of geological activity, perhaps even volcanic, on these icy worlds. The particles were traced to the two moons because of the dramatic movement of electrically charged gas in the magnetic environs of Saturn. Fri, 15 Jun 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070614112935.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070601110714.htm Two and a half years after the historic landing of ESA's Huygens probe on Titan, a new set of results on Saturn's largest moon is ready to be presented. Titan, as seen through the eyes of the European Space Agency's Huygens probe, still holds exciting surprises, scientists say. Sun, 03 Jun 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070601110714.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516133036.htm Rubbing your hands together on a cold day generates a bit of heat, and the same process of frictional heating may be what powers the geysers jetting out from the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus, according to a new study. It seems that tidal forces acting on fault lines in the moon's icy shell cause the sides of the faults to rub back and forth against each other, producing enough heat to transform some of the ice into plumes of water vapor and ice crystals. Wed, 23 May 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516133036.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070522100753.htm Saturn's largest and most densely packed ring is composed of dense clumps of particles separated by nearly empty gaps, according to new findings from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. These clumps in Saturn's B ring are neatly organized and constantly colliding, which surprised scientists. Tue, 22 May 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070522100753.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516153924.htm Cracks in the icy surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus open and close daily under the pull of Saturn's gravity, according to new calculations by NASA-sponsored researchers. Thu, 17 May 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516153924.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516163049.htm Researchers have identified molecules in the atmosphere of one of Saturn's moons that are responsible for its smog-like haze. The atmosphere of Titan is of great interest as it is the only one in the solar system remotely like that of Earth, containing a nitrogen-rich mix of gases. Thu, 17 May 2007 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516163049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070508204449.htm New Cassini research suggests eddies, or giant rotating storms, are the "engine" powering Saturn's jet stream winds. "The new information about how Saturn's jet streams are powered is exactly the opposite of what we thought prior to Cassini," said Anthony Del Genio of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Wed, 09 May 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070508204449.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070327121941.htm An odd, six-sided, honeycomb-shaped feature circling the entire north pole of Saturn has captured the interest of scientists with NASA's Cassini mission. Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070327121941.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070326113408.htm New data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, reported in the online version of Science, shows how the small moon, Enceladus, is weighing down Saturn's magnetic field so much that the field is rotating slower than the planet. This phenomenon makes it nearly impossible to measure the length of the Saturn day using techniques that work at the other giant planets. Mon, 26 Mar 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070326113408.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070314080639.htm Instruments on NASA's Cassini spacecraft have found evidence for seas, likely filled with liquid methane or ethane, in the high northern latitudes of Saturn's moon Titan. One such feature is larger than any of the Great Lakes of North America and is about the same size as several seas on Earth. Wed, 14 Mar 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070314080639.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070312110716.htm A hot start billions of years ago might have set into motion the forces that power geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus. Wed, 14 Mar 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070312110716.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070301122054.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has captured never-before-seen views of Saturn from perspectives high above and below the planet's rings. Over the last several months, the spacecraft has climbed to higher and higher inclinations, providing its cameras with glimpses of the planet and rings that have scientists gushing. Fri, 02 Mar 2007 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070301122054.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070209074148.htm Astronomers from the University of Virginia and other institutions have found that Enceladus, the sixth-largest moon of Saturn, is a "cosmic graffiti artist," pelting the surfaces of at least 11 other moons of Saturn with ice particles sprayed from its spewing surface geysers. This ice sandblasts the other moons, creating a reflective surface that makes them among the brightest bodies in the solar system. Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070209074148.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070204111631.htm A giant cloud half the size of the United States has been imaged on Saturn's moon Titan by the Cassini spacecraft. The cloud may be responsible for the material that fills the lakes discovered last year by Cassini's radar instrument. Mon, 05 Feb 2007 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070204111631.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070117092122.htm Two years ago, planetary scientists across the world watched as Europe and the US did something amazing. The Huygens descent module drifted down through the hazy atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, beaming its data back to Earth via the Cassini mothership. Today, Huygens's data are still continuing to surprise researchers. Wed, 17 Jan 2007 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070117092122.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070104011304.htm The existence of oceans or lakes of liquid methane on Saturn's moon Titan was predicted more than 20 years ago. But with a dense haze preventing a closer look it has not been possible to confirm their presence. Until the Cassini flyby of July 22, 2006, that is. Thu, 04 Jan 2007 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070104011304.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061212212855.htm The tallest mountains ever seen on Titan -- coated with layers of organic material and blanketed by clouds -- have been imaged by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Wed, 13 Dec 2006 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061212212855.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061109134926.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has seen something never before seen on another planet -- a hurricane-like storm at Saturn's South Pole with a well-developed eye, ringed by towering clouds. The "hurricane" spans a dark area inside a thick, brighter ring of clouds. It is approximately 5,000 miles across, or two thirds the diameter of Earth. Fri, 10 Nov 2006 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061109134926.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012091535.htm Scientists with NASA's Cassini mission have spied a new, continuously changing feature that provides circumstantial evidence that a comet or asteroid recently collided with Saturn's innermost ring, the faint D ring. Fri, 13 Oct 2006 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012091535.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012092100.htm Saturn appears dressed to the nines, "wearing" a strand of "pearls" in a stunning infrared image from the Cassini spacecraft that showcases a meteorological phenomenon. Thu, 12 Oct 2006 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012092100.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012091906.htm Cassini scientists are on the trail of the missing moons of Saturn. A recent observation by the spacecraft leads them to believe that they will find the moons near newly discovered rings around the planet. Thu, 12 Oct 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061012091906.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061006074637.htm A new image of Saturn demonstrates a technique that creates a 'Chinese lantern' effect, showing Saturn's deep clouds silhouetted against the planet's warm, glowing interior. Seen this way, Saturn's interior shows surprising activity underneath the overlying haze, with a great variety of cloud shapes and sizes. Fri, 06 Oct 2006 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061006074637.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060920113814.htm Saturn sports a new ring in an image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Sunday, Sept. 17, during a one-of-a-kind observation. Other spectacular sights captured by Cassini's cameras include wispy fingers of icy material stretching out tens of thousands of kilometers from the active moon, Enceladus, and a cameo color appearance by planet Earth. Wed, 20 Sep 2006 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060920113814.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060728103452.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found lakes on Saturn's moon Titan. The lakes are most likely the source of hydrocarbon smog in the frigid moon's atmosphere. Finding the source of the complex soup of hydrocarbons in Titan's atmosphere has been a major goal for the Cassini mission and is a significant accomplishment. Fri, 28 Jul 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060728103452.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060721202957.htm New radar images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft revealed geological features similar to Earth on Xanadu, an Australia-sized, bright region on Saturn's moon Titan. Sun, 23 Jul 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060721202957.htm