Sixty moons for Saturn

Des Emery, St. Thomas, ON, Canada — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 05:04:20 GMT

It makes me think of a cake in the oven. If it is not observed until 30 minutes have gone by, the cake does look like the wet and sloppy batter it was, but now is brown topped, dry and bigger, perhaps overflowing its container. If another 30 minutes elapses, the cake is now its original size, but black and crusty. No single observation will tell what the cake is made of, nor how the ingredients were combined in the first place. Even multiple viewings will not reveal whether the cake is vanilla, almond, or white chocolate. That can only be determined by tasting it. Before it gets burned up. A good enough reason for me to go to Saturn and his Moons.
And the oven used in the baking will also make a difference.

Sixty moons for Saturn

Matthew F. Clough — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:31:52 GMT

Awesome read, Alan. We've come so very far with explorations of this type, yet we are still so very far away from many answers to many questions concerning our own solar system. The artificial satellite really caught my interest as I recall Mars having some very peculiar moons as well, of which we might have in our sights to explore in the near future according to Space.com. The number of bodies they have found is staggering! With this "explosion" of newfound interest of the public with space Saturn is turning out to be quite a fascinating planet. Even more so if you consider the recent public interest in the "hexagon" (that still has my head swimming!)...

I can’t wait for Cassini to get a little closer!

Thanks for the excellent coverage. :)

Sixty moons for Saturn

Dennis — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:07:51 GMT

Frank's a nice name. They should keep it.

Sixty moons for Saturn

D Rasmussen, Morganton, NC — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 21:04:32 GMT

God certainly made a wonderful Cosmos, huh?

Sixty moons for Saturn

Mary N, Knoxville TN — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 22:35:09 GMT

Is it certain these moons have been around a long time??? We keep turning up multi-moons, not seemingly all smaller, but not seen before. Could some have been captured in orbit within the past few years of observation? It's fascinating but like the Jupiter impacts years ago, a current event, could we be seeing some of these moons being accumulated? I like Frank too - maybe not as romantic as the Greek names, but

Sixty moons for Saturn

Jim Fox, Virginia Beach, VA — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 00:34:52 GMT

What is the definition of a "moon". Obviously, bigger than a speck of dust, but how much bigger?

Fluxman

Sixty moons for Saturn

Des Emery, St. Thomas, ON, Canada — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 04:16:40 GMT

Matthew F. Clough wondered about the polar 'hexagonal' feature showing up in new photographs of Saturn. Bees make hexagonal honeycomb cells the same way. Movies show the bee making wax and building the walls of the cell by turning its body within the confines of a circle while it constructs the cell. The wax is warm and pliable and automatically assumes the hexagonal shape by being pressed by other cells under or already constructed of the same size. Squashing pliable circles makes them hexagonal. The central circle is always going to be surrounded by eight other circles when they are identically sized as they are in a honeycomb. By taking the hexagonal shape they eliminate empty space between them, an advantage for the bee when many of them are crawling around the hive. That leaves the question, where are the other circles outside the Saturnian Hexagon? It seems to be formed of clouds whipped by winds or planetary rotation, so perhaps there are other winds blowing steadily up from Saturn's equator and forcing the hexagonal shape to appear.

Sixty moons for Saturn

JC, Fairbanks, AK — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 04:25:01 GMT

Yes, the *Flying Spaghetti Monster* did a FINE job, D Rasmussen...RAMEN!!

The definition of the term "moon" is the next looming "meaning of the term planet"-type crisis, Fluxman, just waiting to spring on us. Here's something not to be surprised by when that happens: WE COULD END UP WITHOUT A MOON! The term "double planet" fits the Earth-Moon quite well. I kid you not; the proposal will probably be made!

Sixty moons for Saturn

Wayne Lusk STL MO — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 16:24:52 GMT

I was happier with Jupiter's 12 moons and Saturn's 9.
luddite? maybe

Sixty moons for Saturn

david l. powers — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 18:17:47 GMT

all retrograde moons were captured when the gas giants moved away from the sun. read sky and telescope magazine -- depleting outer asteroids, june '97. contact dave powers, 3020 shawnee 8, winchester, va 22601 for answers to your questions.

Sixty moons for Saturn

Des Emery, St.Thomas, ON, Canada — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 01:06:21 GMT

Hey JC of Fairbanks, our Luna was acquired, not birthed in Earth orbit as a double planet would have had to be if we were partners in that conception so long ago. The definition of 'moon' makes the body in question what it is in conjunction with the mass of the planetary unit. If Luna were in orbit on its own around Sol it would be a 'planet' but it functions as a satellite orbiting Terra, not a partner revolving with our planet around a common focus somewhere in space, with the two of us orbiting Sol as a single unit. Are they really going to re-define definitions to make Luna become Planet No. 9? Can't they leave well enough alone?

Sixty moons for Saturn

JC, Fairbanks, AK — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:57:00 GMT

Earth-Moon orbit their common center of mass, not Earth's center. This point lies not at Earth's center, but over 4000km toward the Moon (though still inside Earth). How really to *define* a double planet is an open question still, but the definition of the term "moon" is getting stretched alot the way the term "planet" has, and, at least for scientific purposes, may eventually need revising. As an example I give you a tiny bit of ice in a huge, retrograde orbit about Saturn being put in the same bin with our Moon....

Sixty moons for Saturn

Des Emery, St. Thomas, ON., Canada — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 04:57:49 GMT

I missed the point of 'common centre of gravity' in my earlier response - thanks, JC. I see your point about the relative sizes of our moon and that chip of ice around Saturn, but isn't the factor of 'orbit' the determining one, not the factor of 'mass' by itself? Acquired satellites could be retrograde or otherwise, but satellites born at the same time as a planet would necessarily share the same direction of movement as the planet and as the star being formed from a nebula, no?

Sixty moons for Saturn

JC, Fairbanks, AK — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 01:08:52 GMT

"but isn't the factor of 'orbit' the determining one, not the factor of 'mass' by itself?"
That's one of the things that will have to be resolved. In work I do I have already resorted to the term 'moonlet' for an object like this, rather than 'moon'. There are many, large differences between planetary satellites, and it will soon be neccessary to define terms for them. I hope this happens sooner rather than later, and is *done right*, and hopefully avoid allowing terms to get culturally embedded that will have to be changed later....

"Acquired satellites could be retrograde or otherwise"
This is one of the big factors which will have to go into categorizing these things. This will not be simple! Note that Triton is a huge 'moon' of Neptune and thus fits the 'large moon' category, but is *retrograde* in its orbit!

"satellites born at the same time as a planet would necessarily share the same direction of movement as the planet"
Definitely.

Sixty moons for Saturn

Rudolph Schroeder, Rosalia, WA — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 04:34:27 GMT

Has anyone considered the possibility that the rings of Saturn may have been created by a giagantic explosion or a series of huge volcanos on the 'surface' of Saturn that was powerful enough to spew material into orbit around Saturn? It would have to be something unimaginable here on Earth, but on Saturn... who knows.

Sixty moons for Saturn

atlanta ACT — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 03:46:43 GMT

has any explored saturn man?

Sixty moons for Saturn

Pallav Dwivedi, India, Delhi. — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:18:11 GMT

As we know that the saturn's moon "titan" has life on it. Only it has less sun light falling on it but we should think that in erath's coldest atmosphere an organisum can live so, we should find if there is any living organisums or not?