Giant ring around saturn

[sadia]

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/6151594/nasa-finds-giant-ring-around-saturn/

[DavidU]

Thats a great finding. I will search for the images !

[sadia]

following shows a artist's rendering
http://english.cctv.com/20091007/101843.shtml

rendered image is bigger than what i expected to see

[DavidU]

http://gallery.spitzer.caltech.edu/Imagegallery/image.php?image_name=ssc2009-19a

A partial of the ring in IR

[matt]

Don't you think it's a little odd we've only just 'discovered' this, given the capabilities of our Earth-based and orbiting hardware?:shrug:

[astroron]

Maybe they where not expecting a ring so far away and at the angle from Saturn,also the instrumentation was not sensitive enough in the past.
But most of all they may not have been looking for it, and have just found by a fluke:rolleyes:

[matt]

Maybe...but when are you referring to when you mention 'the past'? We've had Hubble, probes and all sorts out there for quite a while:rolleyes:

Although Hubble wouldn't carry the same instrumentation as Spitzer.

I still think it's pretty wild something like this has remained undiscovered up until now.

Cheers.

[mswhin63]

According to the article which i find very strange is that the ring is at 27deg from the other ring. So what kind of forces or waves are creating this.

[MrB]

From the second link given in this thread.....(http://english.cctv.com/20091007/101843.shtml)
One of Saturn's farthest moons, Phoebe, circles within the newfound ring, and is likely the source of its material.

[Nightskystargaz]

I'm surprise they did not find it sooner.

:thanx:,

Tom

[mithrandir]

It is highly nebulous. Spitzer sees it because the temperature of the dust is high enough to radiate in infrared, but not high enough for Hubble's infrared cameras.

[matt]

We've had infrared-capable instruments for a verrrrrrry long time looking out into space:shrug::)

[Paul Haese]

Yes but many of the newer IR detectors are vastly superior to anything that Hubble or that generation of detectors were capable. The detectors launched in the last 6-7 years have discovered a lot of things that we just did not know were there before hand. No doubt the next generation will be better still.

[matt]

No doubt. Still...an amazing discovery given it's in the 'neighbourhood'.