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Icy Rain

All articles tagged with #icy rain

astronomy3 years ago•2 min saved

Saturn's Rings Disappearing: Scientists Alarmed.

Saturn's rings are falling in on the planet as icy rain due to its intense gravity, according to researchers. Dr. James O’Donoghue from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will track the destruction of the rings using some of the world's most powerful telescopes. The rings are expected to be part of Saturn for only a few hundred million years, and their erosion rate is still being studied. The rings are thought to be pieces of comets, asteroids, or shattered moons that broke up before they reached the planet.

via Fox News|

#astronomy #gravity #icy-rain

astronomy3 years ago•1 min saved

The Mysterious Disappearance of Saturn's Iconic Rings

Saturn's innermost rings are being sucked up into the planet's upper atmosphere, and scientists are still trying to figure out why. The planet's icy rings are collapsing into the planet as icy rain, succumbing to its intense gravity. Researchers are trying to figure out how long these rings will exist and if they could ever come back. The changing Sun's radiation during Saturn's 29.5-year orbit may be influencing how much icy material falls toward the planet's upper atmosphere.

via Futurism|

#astronomy #gravity #icy-rain

science-and-astronomy3 years ago•4 min saved

Unprecedented Saturn Phenomenon Discovered After 40 Years of Data

Icy particles raining down from Saturn's rings are heating the gas giant's atmosphere, according to a new study that examined data collected from various space missions including NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the retired Cassini probe and the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft. The discovery could help researchers predict if exoplanets have ring systems. The particle rain was observed by the Cassini probe when it plunged into the gas giant's atmosphere at the end of its mission in September 2017.

via Space.com|

#atmosphere #exoplanets #icy-rain