It is very delicate and gigantic in its dimensions: the space telectcope Spitzer has discovered a new Saturn ring. If the giant ring to see from Earth, it would appear twice as large as the full moon.
The Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered a new Saturn ring. (Photo: Reuters)
The Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered a new Saturn ring. (Photo: AP) LONDON - The Saturn has another, previously unknown ring. The delicate, massive dust ring is the largest in our solar system, as reported by Anne J. Verbiscer from the University of Virginia and her colleagues in the British journal "Nature" (online in advance). Look at it yourself and get a optical telescope for sale to watch Saturn.
Astronomers have discovered the thin ring with the giant space telescope Spitzer. He has a diameter of 26 million miles more than 20 times as large as the largest previously known planetary rings, which are Jupiter and Saturn. Had he seen from Earth, it would appear twice as large as the full moon.
Puzzle could be solved
The dust ring is in communication with the distant Saturn moon Phoebe and could solve a mystery that astronomers busy for a long time: the question of why the Saturn moon Iapetus on its front side in the direction of flight is much darker than on his back. It is possible that Iapetus' front over the billions collected dust that descends from the darker outer moons of Saturn.
The team Verbiscer has calculated that the newly discovered ring may have delivered in the past of our solar system enough material to cover the front side of Iapetus with a meter of dust.
