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NASA's Cassini mission officially ended in 2017. It was at that time that the spacecraft plunged into Saturn, destroying itself in a torch of glory, but the incredible wealth of data that he returned during his lifetime is still in the study Posted in Science reveals, he still has some secrets to share.
In a new blog post, NASA highlights some of the exciting new discoveries that scientists are discovering in Cassini's data. More precisely, the observations of the spacecraft bring new details on the structure of Saturn's emblematic rings, as well as on the spectacular differences from one ring to another.
After having successfully completed a long initial campaign, the Cassini scientists decided to place the satellite on a trajectory that would eventually lead to its death. Before the spacecraft dives into the planet, it will perform a series of increasingly risky dives across the rings of Saturn and transmit as much information as it could gather.
This "grand finale" was Cassini's most incredible asset and, against all odds, he managed to succeed without being destroyed. The data he returned is at the heart of this new study and tells us that the rings of Saturn each have their own personality.
"We find structures related to the detailed sculpture of the rings by embedded masses, including structures near the Daphnis moon that have apparently undergone disturbances markedly different from those of the surrounding ring material, as well as elements complex structures within the largest helical disturbances, "the researchers say. Explain.
Ring C, for example, presents what scientists call a "striated texture" that scientists attribute to collisions between tiny fragments of material that make up the rings. Likewise, the tiny moons that punctuate the rings have the power to shape them.
"Like a planet under construction in a disk of protoplanetary material, tiny moons embedded in the rings of Saturn interact with the particles that surround them," NASA says. "In this way, the paper provides further evidence that the rings are a window to the astrophysical disk processes that shape our solar system."
The Cassini probe's confidence may have long passed, but its legacy will continue for the foreseeable future and the data collected will continue to provide scientists with new discoveries for years to come.
Image Source: NASA / JPL-Caltech Space Science Institute /
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