Energy News  
Catching Saturn's Ring Waves

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Colorado at Boulder.

Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 10, 2004
This false color image of two density waves in Saturn's A ring was made from the stellar occultation observed by Cassini's ultraviolet imaging spectrograph when the spacecraft was 6.8 million kilometers (4.2 million miles) from Saturn.

Bright areas indicate the denser regions of the rings. The bright bands in the left part of the image are the "peaks" of a density wave caused by gravitational stirring of the rings by Saturn's moon, Janus.

A smaller density wave in the right half of the image is produced by the moon Pandora. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph observed the brightness of the star Xi Ceti as the rings passed in front of it, and the flickering of the starlight was converted into the ring density depicted by the image.

The image represents a distance of about 724 kilometers (450 miles), and the smallest features are about one-half mile across.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Cassini-Huygens mission at JPL
Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph Team
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express
Explore The Ring World of Saturn and her moons
Jupiter and its Moons
The million outer planets of a star called Sol
News Flash at Mercury



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Cassini Images Halo Around Titanic Moon Off Saturn
Pasadena CA (SPX) Dec 27, 2005
With its thick, distended atmosphere, Titan's orange globe shines softly, encircled by a thin halo of purple light-scattering haze.







  • US Motorists Can Now Fill Up ... With Hydrogen
  • Chinese Professor Develops New Magnetic Train
  • Watts From Wastewater: New Device Produces Power While Treating Sewage
  • Research on "Holes" May Unearth Causes of Superconductivity

  • Nigeria's First Nuclear Reactor Inaugurated
  • Iran-EU Still Short Of Agreement On Tehran's Nuclear Program
  • Iran Uranium Facility '70 Percent' Operational: Official
  • France Says Future Is Nuclear With New Generation Of Power-Plants





  • NASA Uses Remotely Piloted Airplane To Monitor Grapes



  • Raytheon To Continue NASA Contract For Airspace Concepts Evaluation System
  • FAA And Raytheon To Modify FAA Contract To Provide Full LPV Performance For The WAAS
  • Northrop Grumman Wins $39M Contract For NASA Airframe Structures Work
  • Boeing CEO Still Hopes For Air Force Tanker Deal

  • NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter
  • Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission
  • Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program
  • Boeing-Led Team to Study Nuclear-Powered Space Systems

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement