[meteorite-list] Re: Cassini Probe Spies Spokes in Saturn's Rings

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Sep 15 12:39:46 2005
Message-ID: <200509151638.j8FGcZN07819_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

So, what is the origin of these 'spokes'? The best theory I've seen, is
that the spokes are actually shadows of particles above the ring. A
meteoroid occassionally punches through Saturn's rings, and particles
are dispersed and some are trapped in Saturn's magnetic field and held
suspended above the ring plane, casting their shadow below. The particles
do move around a little, and movement in the spokes have been observed.
If the theory is true, then this would be a transient event, and so
it is not surprising that Cassini did not see the spokes right away, and
the fact that it just recently observed the spokes indicates a
meteoroid has recently passed through Saturn's rings.

Ron Baalke
Received on Thu 15 Sep 2005 12:38:34 PM PDT