More Evidence of Global Warming.

[BringBackZezel]

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/18mar_saturn.htm?list157664

March 18, 2008: Saturn: jewel of the solar system, taker of breaths, ringed beauty. Even veteran astronomers can't help but gasp when they see her through a small telescope.
Red Alert: Saturn's rings are vanishing.
Around the world, amateur astronomers have noticed the change; Saturn's wide open rings are rapidly narrowing into a thin line. Efrain Morales Rivera sends these pictures taken through a backyard telescope in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico:

"The rings have narrowed considerably in the last year," he reports. "The Cassini division (a dark gap in the rings) is getting hard to see."

[ksbluesfan]

IIRC from my astronomy class, the rings will eventually be pulled into Saturn. They think Jupiter used to have rings like Saturn's but they fell prey to gravity.

I'm looking forward to warmer weather and a beachfront home in Kansas City.

[Moon Man]

I don't understand.

But in other Saturn-related news...

Probe to sample Saturn moon's geysers

By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer Wed Mar 12, 4:41 AM ET

LOS ANGELES - Three years after gigantic geysers were spied on an icy Saturn moon, the international Cassini spacecraft is poised to plunge through the fringes of the mysterious plumes to learn how they formed.

Wednesday's flyby will take Cassini within 30 miles of the surface of Enceladus at closest approach. The unmanned probe will be about 120 miles above the moon as it sweeps through the edge of the geysers and measures their chemical makeup.

The carefully orchestrated event will take Cassini "deeper than we've been before," mission scientist Carolyn Porco of the Space Science Institute said in an e-mail.

Scientists long believed Enceladus, the shiniest object in the solar system, was cold and still because it resides hundreds of millions of miles from the sun. But recent evidence shows the Arizona-size satellite is geologically active, with a significant atmosphere and a relatively warm south pole.

In 2005, Cassini surprised scientists when it snapped images of geyser-like eruptions of ice particles and water vapor spewing from the south pole. The dramatic images effectively put Enceladus (en-SELL'-uh-duhs) on the short list of places within the solar system most likely to have conditions suitable for extraterrestrial life.

Scientists generally agree the presence of water, organic compounds and a stable heat source are needed to support primitive life.

Previous measurements by Cassini showed the eruptions were frequent, with gases and particles venting from the surface at about 800 mph and forming plumes hundreds of miles high.

The source of the geysers is a mystery, but some theorize reservoirs of liquid water below the surface are likely supplying the ice and vapor seen in the plumes.

Until now, scientists have not been able to measure the plumes' makeup in detail. Using its particle analyzers, Cassini will calculate the density, size and speed of the various gases and particles. The spacecraft's cameras will also image the moon during the flyby.

Of particular interest is whether the plumes contain ammonia, which can keep water in liquid form and would bolster the theory that liquid water lies beneath.

"There's not much for us ... to do regarding the upcoming flyby except to hold our breaths and cross our fingers," John Spencer of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., wrote on the Cassini blog.

The close encounter poses little danger to Cassini because the plume particles are small compared with the dust-size debris the spacecraft is used to flying through while orbiting Saturn, scientists said.

The Cassini mission is a collaboration between NASA and the European and Italian space agencies.

On top of that, recent observations by astronomers show that Rhea, one of Saturn's moons, may have rings of it's own.

Moon

[Ty Shula]

um, i don't think those two pictures were taken at the same angle.

[Airshark]

I don't understand.

But in other Saturn-related news...



On top of that, recent observations by astronomers show that Rhea, one of Saturn's moons, may have rings of it's own.

Moon

The sampling mission has already failed. There was a "software glitch".

[BringBackZezel]

um, i don't think those two pictures were taken at the same angle.

but's is obvious that the rings are smaller.

It's all because of SUVs.

[Ty Shula]

gridlock!

[Glovey]

um, i don't think those two pictures were taken at the same angle.

++

Considering the difference in angle, the rings look pretty much the same.

[cardinalgirl]

so if Saturn's rings are getting smaller and there are less of them, does that mean the planet is getting younger?

[ppg shg]

so if Saturn's rings are getting smaller and there are less of them, does that mean the planet is getting younger?

I'm waiting for the Crichton book to explain it to me.

[dooz]

must be because of all the space shuttles and space stations.

[marco]

um, i don't think those two pictures were taken at the same angle.

But that's not why the rings are smaller, they're smaller because the Misses uses hairspray in the morning and I left a lightbulb on at the house today by accident.

[Blues Fan in TX]

I blame Guppy's co-worker.

[Bleacher Creature]

I blame Guppy's co-worker.

Too many people eating Mexican food and beans at the same time.


These Global Warmists crack me up.

[kah]

This wins the stupid thread of the week award.

Here's the part BBZ didn't quote:

What happened?

The same thing that's happening now: we're experiencing a "ring plane crossing." As Saturn goes around the sun, it periodically turns its rings edge-on to Earth—once every 14-to-15 years. Because the rings are so thin, they can actually disappear when viewed through a small telescope.