What Is Between Saturn & Its Rings? Cassini, In Its 20-Year-Old Journey To The Ringed Planet, Reveals The Answer

by Ribhu . / May 12, 2017 12:55 PM EDT
Io Moon Over Jupiter

When it comes to the planet Saturn, the question has always persisted: what is between Saturn and its rings? The Cassini probe yields an extraordinary insight about the region between Saturn's rings after it passes the range twice. Indeed, even space dust doesn't exist in the middle of the notable rings - the rings which appear to be so fascinating in nature. 

As per Cassini project manager Earl Maize, the Pasadena-based NASA Jet Propulsion research facility found that the regions between the rings are void. Maize called the spaces between the rings as "the big empty." Apart from the revelation of the void, researchers affirmed that the quick moving rings are comprised of ice and other debris that are found in space.

A month ago, the Cassini made its first go between Saturn's rings. The second round was done on May 2, zooming past at blinding 77,000 miles per hour. Each of these passes has investigated the 1,500 miles gap between the Saturn rings and the planet itself, as per The Nation

The Cassini was launched in 1997 and reached Saturn in the year 2004 - a seven years journey. Its aim was to provide valuable data about the ringed planet. It additionally gave immense scientific insights about the synthesis of its rings. 

Now, the Cassini is a maturing 20-year old venture of NASA and its partners, European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. It has spent up almost all of its fuel in one of the most famous space ventures ever. All things considered, its remaining months can see it making 22 dives, and researchers expect that it will uncover more insights about Saturn's rings. 

Researchers are anxious about the possibility that the Cassini will block the course of Saturn's 62 plus satellites. Since some of these celestial bodies may hold life in their subsurface water, diving the spacecraft planet itself is the best choice to reduce the potential danger. 

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