Propeller Feature "Bleriot" in Saturn’s A Ring

This movie created from images obtained by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shows a propeller-shaped structure created by a hidden, embedded moon moving through one of Saturn's rings. The moon, likely about a kilometer (half a mile) across, can't be seen at this resolution. However, it is larger than many other "propeller" moons and has cleared ring material from the dark wing-like regions to its left and right in these images. Disturbed ring material closer to the moon reflects sunlight brightly and appears like a white airplane propeller. Taken in 2005, these images are part of growing catalogue of "propeller" moons that, despite being too small to be seen, enhance their visibility by creating larger disturbances in the surrounding fabric of Saturn's rings. The motion here occurs in Saturn's outermost main ring, known as the A ring. Cassini scientists now have tracked several of these individual propeller moons embedded in Saturn's disk over several years. These images are important because they represent the first time scientists have been able to track the orbits of objects in space that are embedded in a disk of material. Continued monitoring of these objects may lead to direct observations of the interaction between a disk of material and embedded moons. Such interactions help scientists understand fundamental principles of how solar systems formed from disks of matter. Indeed, Cassini scientists have seen changes in the orbits of these moons, although they don't yet know ...

Channel: YouTube Video Length: 7s Date Found: Thu, Jul 08 2010 4:16 PM Category: Technology Date Produced: Thu, Jul 08 2010 3:52 PM View Count: 0