Articles tagged with Planetary Rings
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The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a cosmic bullseye, revealing eight visible rings and confirming a ninth using data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The galaxy's unique ring structure was formed by a blue dwarf galaxy colliding with its center, creating a new generation of stars.
Hubble's OPAL program has observed the four giant outer planets since 2018, providing long-term baseline data on their atmospheric changes. The observations have led to remarkable discoveries, including the measurement of Jupiter's wind speeds and Saturn's ring system colors.
Researchers detected complex structure with three concentric rings in the innermost region of the disk, rich in dust and minerals. The discovery suggests two planets may be forming within the gaps, with masses similar to Jupiter.
A Lancaster University PhD student used a new method to calculate the optical depth of Saturn's rings, revealing their transparency. By analyzing changes in Cassini's Langmuir Probe data during solar eclipses, the researcher determined how much sunlight passed through each ring.
Researchers from Queen's University have identified two potential polar ring galaxies using data from the CSIRO's ASKAP radio telescope. The discovery suggests that these rare clusters might be more common than previously believed, with implications for our understanding of galaxy evolution and dark matter research.
A team studied 19 protostars with ALMA to observe disk structure and signs of planet formation. They found fewer ring structures in younger disks, suggesting rapid planetary system progression.
The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a massive plume of water vapor on Saturn's moon Enceladus, stretching over 6,000 miles. This finding has significant implications for the search for life beyond Earth, as it suggests that Enceladus may have the necessary ingredients for habitability.
New research from Indiana University suggests that Saturn's icy rings are no more than a few hundred million years old, much younger than the planet itself. The rings are expected to lose mass onto the planet at a prodigious rate, leading to their eventual disappearance in another few hundred million years.
A UTSA-led research team has discovered a new exoplanet using indirect methods. The exoplanet, HIP 99770 b, is about 14 to 16 times the mass of Jupiter and orbits a nearly twice-as-massive star. This breakthrough opens a new avenue for scientists to discover and characterize exoplanets.
Astronomers have found that Saturn's vast ring system is heating the giant planet's upper atmosphere, a phenomenon that could provide insights into the atmospheres of distant worlds. The discovery was made using archival ultraviolet-light observations from four space missions, including Hubble and Cassini.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured the start of Saturn's spoke season, a mysterious phenomenon that appears across the planet's rings during its equinox. The cause of the spokes remains unknown, but scientists believe they may be linked to Saturn's variable magnetic field and charged particles in the solar wind.
A new ring system has been found around the Pluto-sized dwarf planet Quaoar, which orbits beyond Neptune. The discovery is remarkable because it lies at a distance of over seven planetary radii from its parent body, posing a challenge to existing theories of ring formation.
A University of Utah-led study explores using space dust as a shield to reduce solar radiation and slow global warming. Launching lunar dust from the moon instead of Earth's way station at L1 could be an effective and cheap solution.
A new theory proposes that rocky planets form in a narrow band of the protoplanetary disk, where silicate vapors condense to form solid pebbles. This process creates a ring of material that constitutes the building blocks for planet formation, resulting in uniform systems of rocky super-Earths.
A new model accounts for the interplay of forces acting on newborn planets, explaining two puzzling observations: the radius valley and peas in a pod. The research suggests that giant impacts, like the one that formed our moon, are probably a generic outcome of planet formation.
Researchers compiled 41 solar occultation observations of Saturn's rings from the Cassini mission to inform future investigations into their formation and evolution. The study reveals new information on ring particles' sizes and compositions, shedding light on the origins of the ring system.
A new study suggests that Saturn's tilted axis is due to the loss of an ancient moon, Chrysalis, which collided with the planet around 160 million years ago. The collision caused the satellite to break apart, releasing fragments that formed the planet's rings and leaving Saturn out of Neptune's gravitational resonance.
New research by UC Riverside astrophysicist Stephen Kane suggests that Jupiter's four main moons would quickly destroy any large ring formations. This prevents Jupiter from having substantial rings, unlike Saturn. The study provides evidence of catastrophic events in the past through the analysis of ring compositions and shapes.
Researchers have discovered a ring of planetary debris orbiting close to a white dwarf star, suggesting the presence of a nearby planet in the habitable zone. The planet is thought to be similar in size to terrestrial planets in our solar system and could support liquid water, making it potentially habitable.
A team of researchers detected a ring of planetary debris surrounding the white dwarf WD1054–226, suggesting a nearby planet may be present in its habitable zone. The study found that the debris is kept in a precise arrangement by a nearby planet's gravitational influence.
A new model demonstrates the formation of three rings around the Sun, each composed of planetesimals that eventually form planets. The simulations reveal different chemical compositions and masses for Venus, Earth, and Mars, explaining their distinct orbits and asteroid populations.
Researchers identified a potential circumtriple planet in the star system GW Ori, with implications for our understanding of planet formation. The discovery, made using ALMA telescope observations, suggests that planet formation may be more active than previously thought.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab, University of Hawaii, and Florida International University found a new way for free radicals to react, leading to the formation of benzene rings. This discovery could help create more efficient gas engines and reduce air pollution.
Researchers used computer models to recreate the impact that carved out Mead crater, finding that Venus's lithosphere must have been quite thick for the crater's ring structures to be where they are. This suggests that plate tectonics was not happening on Venus at the time of the impact.
The Blue Ring Nebula, a cloud of gas in space, is likely composed of debris from two stars that collided and merged into one. A new study using cutting-edge models applied to collected data reveals the nebula's age and nature.
The team observed the nebula with two different spectrographs on large telescopes, finding that the central star is inflated and signatures of accretion are present. The data suggest a merging binary star system, offering a clear view of the central stellar remnant.
Astronomers have found compelling evidence that planets start to form while infant stars are still growing. The ALMA radio observatory has captured a high-resolution image of the proto-star IRS 63 with multiple gaps and rings of dust, indicating that seeds of planets are forming in these cosmic cradles.
Researchers found three large, misaligned dust rings around the young triple star system GW Ori, with sufficient dust for planet formation. A computer simulation suggests that a hidden planet may have carved out a dust gap and broken the disk at the location of the current inner and outer rings.
Two teams of astronomers used ALMA to discover a misaligned ring system in the planet-forming disk of GW Orionis, a triple star system. The findings suggest that either gravitational pull from the stars or a newborn planet caused the misalignment, highlighting the complex processes involved in planetary formation.
A team of experts identified a stellar system where planet formation might take place in inclined dust and gas rings within a warped circumstellar disc around multiple stars. The discovery reveals that the inner ring contains 30 Earth masses of dust, which could be enough to form planets.
A new observational study reveals that the GW-Orionis triple-star system's disk is misaligned due to disk tearing, which could lead to planetary systems with oblique or retrograde orbits. The study provides a three-dimensional model and simulation of the system, reproducing its highly deformed disk and misaligned rings.
A team of astronomers identified the first direct evidence that groups of stars can tear apart their planet-forming discs, leaving them warped and with tilted rings. This discovery suggests exotic planets may form in inclined rings around multiple stars.
The James Webb Space Telescope will conduct pioneering observations of Jupiter, its ring system, and two intriguing moons Ganymede and Io. The study aims to investigate the moon's interaction with particles in Jupiter's magnetic field and its potential liquid saltwater ocean beneath its thick surface ice.
The latest Hubble image of Saturn reveals small atmospheric storms in the planet's northern hemisphere, with pronounced banding visible. The ringed planet's atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium, with seasonal changes due to increased sunlight also producing a reddish haze.
A NASA-built instrument uses shearing force to grow E. coli bacteria, demonstrating a more suitable method for space travel than existing alternatives. The research opens a new path to bio-manufacturing drugs during long-term space flights.
New research suggests that some 'cotton candy' exoplanets could have rings, challenging current ideas about their low densities. The discovery proposal, led by Anthony Piro and Shreyas Vissapragada, simulates how ringed exoplanets would appear to astronomers using high-precision instruments.
The latest Hubble image of Saturn reveals a planet with a dynamic atmosphere, featuring turbulent storms and subtle changes in its banded structure. The iconic hexagon at Saturn's north pole remains unchanged, while the mysterious six-sided pattern continues to intrigue scientists.
Scientists have discovered new compounds and minerals on Saturn's moon Titan, including a co-crystal made of solid acetylene and butane. This finding suggests that the bathtub rings suspected to exist around Titan's hydrocarbon lakes may be formed by these alien crystals.
Astronomers have measured the temperature of Uranus' rings for the first time, finding a cool 77 Kelvin. The new images also reveal differences in ring composition compared to Saturn's rings, including lower albedo and narrower widths.
Researchers used Cassini's closest observations to study Saturn's rings, revealing three distinct textures and tiny moons within the rings. The study also found streaky textures and large boulders, which may be fragments of broken objects or formed through accretion processes.
Researchers found that Mimas' migration into the Cassini Division pushed apart ice particles, creating the 4500 km wide band. The moon's orbit may have been driven by orbital resonance with Saturn, causing it to lose energy and migrate inwards.
Researchers found that gravitational forces of an unseen moon outside the rings could cause gaps in the ring structure, but the effect is unlikely to be caused by a currently unseen moon.
Researchers investigate Haumea's ring, suggesting a degree of eccentricity is required for resonance to act on particles. They identify stable, circular orbits compatible with the ring, contradicting previous assumptions.
Researchers have spotted two rings of dust around a young star, suggesting the formation of a planetary system similar to our own. The observations provide clear answers to previous models, with one ring at the asteroid belt location and the other at the Neptune orbit.
Researchers found a fine haze of cosmic dust over Mercury's orbit, forming a ring some 9.3 million miles wide. They also identified the likely source of dust at Venus' orbit: a group of never-before-detected asteroids co-orbiting with the planet.
A volunteer astronomer found an ancient white dwarf star, LSPM J0207, ringed by dust and debris. The discovery challenges current models of planetary systems and may provide insights into the distant future of our solar system.
Saturn's ring system acts as a sensitive seismograph to measure the giant planet's vibrations, enabling scientists to determine its rotation rate. Researchers used wave patterns in the rings to probe Saturn's interior, obtaining the first precise determination of its rotation rate.
A recent study using Cassini data estimates Saturn's ring mass to be around 40 percent of the moon Mimas' mass, indicating a relatively young age for the rings. The discovery also provides insight into Saturn's internal structure and atmospheric circulation patterns.
New gravity field data reveal Saturn's rings are significantly younger than the planet, with ages estimated at 10-100 million years. The findings contradict previous assumptions and shed light on the formation of Saturn's ring system.
Researchers found that Saturn's iconic rings are losing ice particles at a maximum rate, draining an Olympic-sized pool in half an hour. The entire ring system is expected to vanish in 300-100 million years.
Saturn's iconic rings are being pulled into the planet by gravity, draining an Olympic-sized swimming pool in half an hour. The research suggests the ring system will be gone in 300 million years, with some particles also falling onto Saturn's geysers from moon Enceladus.
Research finds that gravity and unique shapes of small objects in our solar system create and maintain their own rings. Astronomers discovered that rings around Chariklo and Haumea are confined by the object's irregularities, contradicting previous assumptions about moon-dominated ring systems.
A team led by Dr Farzana Meru of the University of Warwick has developed a way to detect planet migration in protoplanetary discs using ALMA observations. By analyzing the particle size in two dust rings, astronomers can determine if a planet is migrating within the disc.
Astronomers successfully collected microscopic material streaming from Saturn's rings using Cassini's Cosmic Dust Analyzer and Radio and Plasma Wave Science instruments. The research reveals that the main component of Saturn's rings is water ice, with tiny silicates also present.
A new study reveals Saturn's innermost D ring is hurling dust grains coated in its chemical cocktail into the planet's upper atmosphere at an extraordinary rate. This infalling material may change the carbon and oxygen content of the atmosphere, prompting questions about the rings' formation and lifespan.
This special issue of Science presents research on Cassini's final transmissions to Earth, revealing new observations and insights into Saturn's atmosphere and rings. The studies found that water, methane, and organic-rich material fall into the planet's atmosphere, modifying its composition and structure.
Researchers found a tilt of less than 0.01 degrees in Saturn's magnetic field, contradicting the theory that it requires a significant tilt to form. The team also spotted interesting structures near the planet, including a secondary source of magnetism and electric currents flowing between the rings and the planet.
SwRI scientists used Cassini's final measurements to detect large influx of materials raining into Saturn's atmosphere, with water and organic compounds falling at rates of up to 10,000 kilograms per second. The discovery has implications for ring evolution and atmospheric chemistry.
Scientists synthesize a nanoscale Saturn system consisting of a spherical C60 fullerene as the planet and a flat macrocycle made of six anthracene units as the ring. The structure is confirmed by spectroscopic and X-ray analyses, enabling a new structural motif for researchers.
A study by Brown University researchers maps the mineralogy of the South Pole-Aitken basin, a giant impact crater on the Moon's far side. The research identified four distinct mineralogical regions within and around the basin, providing insights for future lunar exploration and landing site selection.