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Some people love it when it rains, but the most concerned storm storms here on Earth would have a hard time dealing with the conditions on Saturn. New research using data from NASA 's Cassini probe has revealed that it' s on Saturn, but it 's not the kind that you want to dropping on your head.
The paper, which was just published in Science, explains that Saturn's iconic rings are actually dripping down onto the planet itself. Dust particles and other material are constantly raining down from the rings and falling to the planet due to the pull of gravity.
A light dusting of space debris might not sound too bad, but the data shows that the precipitation is anything but mild. In fact, the rings rain an incredible 22,000 pounds of material. The spacecraft was made to make these observations thanks to the Saturn's rings.
Cassini's data also revealed that the particles do not go straight to the planet. Some do indeed just tumble down, but others become caught up in the planet's magnetic field and get pulled into patterns that the researchers call "ring rain."
Cassini ultimately sacrificed itself to the planet, making a heroic dive towards Saturn's upper atmosphere, causing it to be incinerated by intense friction. But before it performed that final dive, it completed an all-important finale by looping around the planet at ever-closer distances and slipping through the planet's rings. It did that 22 times before finally slamming into Saturn in late 2017, marking an end to its life after nearly two decades in space.
This is hardly the last one of Cassini, however, as the researcher feels that it will still be sifting through it for years to come. What other secrets will it uncover? We probably will not have to wait long to find out.
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