Scientists and astronomers are always trying to find out more and more about the outside world. The rings of Saturn are one phenomenon that astronomers are continuing to study. Just recently, it was revealed that these scientists who were studying these rings came to a few surprising theories.
THEORY NUMBER 1 ON THE SATURN RINGS
It has been concluded by astronomers that the more opacity that something has doesn’t mean that it has more mass. They came to this conclusion while studying the rings of Saturn, and they were no doubt surprised. Phil Nicholson, a Cornell University astronomy professor, noted in an announcement that appearances can be very deceiving. He also gave the analogy that a foggy meadow is less transparent than a swimming pool, even though the latter is much denser.
THEORY NUMBER 2 ON THE SATURN RINGS
Right now, astronomers are trying to figure out the density of the rings of Saturn. They are doing this to try and determine the age of them. However, during these studies scientists have come to the conclusion that the ring’s opacity and the particulate material it contains have little correlation with each other.
THEORY NUMBER 3 ON THE SATURN RINGS
This last theory was previously proposed by scientists, but their new analysis proves it to be true. Scientists had previously indicated that the B ring had less mass than the opacity indicated. However, with their latest analysis, this was confirmed to be true.
SCIENTISTS NOW WONDER WHY THIS IS THE CASE
Even though scientists have come to many conclusions, they now wonder why. One professor, Matthew Hedman from the University of Idaho, mentioned how it is still a mystery on how regions with the same amount of material can have such different opacities. Hedman noted how this could be because of the ring’s structure, or it could have something to do with the size of the particles.
