Fascinating (1 Viewer)

[Saint77]

(CNN) -- Scientists at NASA have discovered a nearly invisible ring around Saturn -- one so large that it would take 1 billion Earths to fill it.
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NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has spotted a massive, nearly invisible ring around Saturn.<!--===========/CAPTION=========-->



The ring's orbit is tilted 27 degrees from the planet's main ring plane. The bulk of it starts about 3.7 million miles (6 million km) away from the planet and extends outward another 7.4 million miles (12 million km).




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Its diameter is equivalent to 300 Saturns lined up side to side. And its entire volume can hold one billion Earths, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory said late Tuesday.


"This is one supersized ring," said Anne Verbiscer, an astronomer at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/10/07/space.saturn.ring/index.html

 

[BHM]

Something so large and relatively nearby by and it is just discovered now. Makes you wonder how little we know of what is out there.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

(CNN) -- Scientists at NASA have discovered a nearly invisible ring around Saturn -- one so large that it would take 1 billion Earths to fill it.
<!--startclickprintexclude--> <!----><!--===========IMAGE============--><!--===========/IMAGE===========--><!--===========CAPTION==========-->

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has spotted a massive, nearly invisible ring around Saturn.<!--===========/CAPTION=========-->



The ring's orbit is tilted 27 degrees from the planet's main ring plane. The bulk of it starts about 3.7 million miles (6 million km) away from the planet and extends outward another 7.4 million miles (12 million km).




<!--endclickprintexclude-->

Its diameter is equivalent to 300 Saturns lined up side to side. And its entire volume can hold one billion Earths, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory said late Tuesday.


"This is one supersized ring," said Anne Verbiscer, an astronomer at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/10/07/space.saturn.ring/index.html

Indeed.

 

[feoinfunroe]

Something so large and relatively nearby by and it is just discovered now. Makes you wonder how little we know of what is out there.

Also consider that there have been four spacecraft to visit Saturn previous to this, and all four missed it.