Saturn Equinox Reveals Mountains in Rings
Monday, September 21st, 2009
The fortuitous lighting of Saturn’s equinox has revealed the planet’s famously smooth, flat rings are actually corrugated. During the days immediately after the August 11 equinox, the sun’s rays struck the rings at very low angles, bringing their topography into high-relief. For scientists studying the rings, the event happening once every 15 years provided an unprecedentedly dimensional view of the rings. They were thought to be about 30 feet thick — and they are, generally speaking —