Saturn's Rings Research Paper
Saturn's rings, originally observed by Galileo in the 1600s, have been marveled at for centuries as the mystery behind their formation increased. It was not until 1980 when Voyager 1 flew by Saturn that a well-developed and precise image of Saturn's rings were collected. Saturn's rings were discovered to be made up of billions of particles ranging from the size of a grain of sand to the size of boulders. The rings, consisting of remains from rocky asteroids and icy comets, are about one kilometer wide. One of the most interesting parts about Saturn's rings, however, is the gaps that separate each ring from each other. The gaps were first discovered by Giovanni Cassini in 1675, who dubbed one of the largest gaps in Saturn's rings the Cassini
Division. The recent Cassini mission to Saturn was also named after him, as Cassini explored Saturn's rings more in-depth than previous missions. The gaps are theorized to be held in place by "shepherd satellites", a term describing the small moons orbiting the planetary rings. The small moon's gravitational pull allows the ring's particles to remain in a confined space while the moons also clear the space in between the rings. This creates the sharp edge around each band that have been observed through captured images. Though "shepherd satellites" may seem like a overly fancy term for such a simple celestial object, the name fits clearly to the moon's purposes. Similar to a shepherd, who contains his sheep in a confined space and controls the sheep's movements, the moons gather the particles into the rings and ultimately determine the width and shape of their ring. A satellite, in simple terms, is just a celestial body orbiting a planet. The moons, which orbit around Saturn while being inside the planet's rings, though do not send information back to Earth, are indeed satellites. The term is a straight-forward and better description of the small moons, which have a severe impact on the rings of not only Saturn, but as well as the other Jovian planets.
Division. The recent Cassini mission to Saturn was also named after him, as Cassini explored Saturn's rings more in-depth than previous missions. The gaps are theorized to be held in place by "shepherd satellites", a term describing the small moons orbiting the planetary rings. The small moon's gravitational pull allows the ring's particles to remain in a confined space while the moons also clear the space in between the rings. This creates the sharp edge around each band that have been observed through captured images. Though "shepherd satellites" may seem like a overly fancy term for such a simple celestial object, the name fits clearly to the moon's purposes. Similar to a shepherd, who contains his sheep in a confined space and controls the sheep's movements, the moons gather the particles into the rings and ultimately determine the width and shape of their ring. A satellite, in simple terms, is just a celestial body orbiting a planet. The moons, which orbit around Saturn while being inside the planet's rings, though do not send information back to Earth, are indeed satellites. The term is a straight-forward and better description of the small moons, which have a severe impact on the rings of not only Saturn, but as well as the other Jovian planets.