…Except for Mab, which is even weirder than expected.
planetary rings
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Speedy Flyby Adds New Organics to Enceladus’s “Primordial Soup”
A new analysis of old Cassini data has also verified past detections of complex organics in Saturn’s E ring, strengthening the chemical ties between the ring and its progenitor.
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A Close Asteroid Encounter May Have Once Given Earth a Ring
An unusual concentration of impact craters suggests that they may have been caused by the breakup of an asteroid that created a temporary debris ring around Earth.
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Las estrellas lejanas resaltan minilunas en los anillos de Saturno
Al estudiar cómo la luz de las estrellas se atenúa al viajar a través de las partículas de hielo que rodean a Saturno, investigadores han hecho foco en muchas estructuras pequeñas en los famosos anillos del gigante gaseoso.
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Distant Stars Spotlight Mini Moons in Saturn’s Rings
By studying how starlight attenuates as it travels through the icy particles encircling Saturn, researchers have zoomed in on a host of small structures in the gas giant’s famous rings.
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Saturn’s Shiny Rings May Be Pretty Young
The rings are fairly shiny despite being bombarded by dust, indicating that they haven’t been around for very long.
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Quaoar’s Ring Defies Gravity
The dwarf planet’s ring makes astronomers question whether a long-held theory about ring and moon formation needs tweaking.
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Mercury Isn’t Alone in Orbit, and Scientists Don’t Know Why
A cloud of dust traces the innermost planet’s orbital path. By all accounts, it shouldn’t be there.
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Long-Gone Moon Could Explain Birth of Saturn’s Rings
Named Chrysalis, the moon could have disintegrated during a close encounter with the gas giant roughly 100 million years ago.
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Can Uranus’s Rings Reveal the Planet’s Deepest Secrets?
Planetary rings can act as seismometers that respond to changes deep within a planet.