PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 3 U.S. scientists say Cassini spacecraft images show the possible origin of one of Saturn's more mysterious rings.
Scientists say Saturn's G ring likely is produced by relatively large, icy particles that reside within a bright arc on the ring's inner edge, NASA said Friday in a release.
The particles are confined within the arc by gravitational effects from Saturn's moon Mimas. Micrometeoroids collide with the particles, releasing smaller, dust-sized particles that brighten the arc. The plasma in the giant planet's magnetic field sweeps through this arc continually, dragging out the fine particles, which create the G ring.
The study, published in the journal Science, and was based on observations made by multiple Cassini instruments in 2004 and 2005.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
