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The second hypothesis is that the rings were never part of a moon, but are instead left over from the original nebular material from which Saturn formed. [citation needed] A 2007 artist's impression of the aggregates of icy particles that form the 'solid' portions of Saturn's rings. These elongated clumps are continually forming and dispersing.
English: A swing high above Saturn by NASA's Cassini spacecraft revealed this stately view of the golden-hued planet and its main rings. The view is in natural color, as human eyes would have seen it. This mosaic was made from 36 images in three color filters obtained by Cassini's imaging science subsystem on Oct. 10, 2013.
Saturn and its rings are best seen when the planet is at, or near, opposition, the configuration of a planet when it is at an elongation of 180°, and thus appears opposite the Sun in the sky. A Saturnian opposition occurs every year—approximately every 378 days—and results in the planet appearing at its brightest.
Fainter planetary rings can form as a result of meteoroid impacts with moons orbiting around the planet or, in the case of Saturn's E-ring, the ejecta of cryovolcanic material. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Ring systems may form around centaurs when they are tidally disrupted in a close encounter (within 0.4 to 0.8 times the Roche limit ) with a giant planet.
See more on Saturn's rings: No telescope on this planet would ever have been able to see this. Cassini left Earth in 1997 and, in its nearly two decades of exploration, has sent home remarkable ...
Ring particles modifying Saturn’s upper atmosphere, changing its composition, scientists say. Skip to main content. Sign in. Mail. 24/7 Help. For premium support please call: 800-290-4726 more ...
The ring would have formed along the equator due to Earth’s equatorial bulge, similar to how the rings of Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune are also around each of those planets’ equatorial ...
The Cassini spacecraft drifted in the darkness of Saturn's shadow for 12 hours to capture this unique view of the ringed planet. This false-color portrait is actually a mosaic composed of 165 smaller images. The pale dot just inside the first faint outer ring at the 9:30 position is the space probe's origin -- the Earth. Reason