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New Discoveries About Saturn's Rings
Rings and Core
Saturn’s majestic rings aren’t just beautiful, they also reveal a lot about the planet’s core, CNET reported.
In a new study, astronomers discovered that the gas giant has a very “fuzzy” core after studying data gathered by NASA’s Cassini probe, which had orbited Saturn and its moons between 2004 and 2017.
The space probe’s trove of information allowed researchers to use Saturn’s famous rings as a seismograph to determine the processes and the makeup of the planet’s interior.
They wrote that the core consists of a “soup” of rocks, ice and metallic fluids that slosh around and influence the planet’s gravity, according to Space.com
“We used Saturn’s rings like a giant seismograph to measure oscillations inside the planet,” co-author Jim Fuller said in a statement. “This is the first time we’ve been able to seismically probe the structure of a gas giant planet, and the results were pretty surprising.”
Fuller’s team also found that the core extends across 60 percent of the planet’s diameter – making its size larger than previous estimates. They added that the motions in the core constantly cause Saturn’s surface to ripple, which can change the planet’s gravity and subsequently affect the rings.
“Saturn is always quaking but it’s subtle,” said lead author Christopher Mankovich.
The findings can help scientists learn more about the composition and formation of other gas giants, including Jupiter.