Cassini Science League
Cassini Science League
Cassini Science League endeavors to share with you more of the large and diverse volume of science generated by the scientists on the Cassini mission. Each Science League entry will highlight a science paper – or set of interrelated papers - and provide information on the publication in which the paper appears.
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Predators and Prey, Fluffy and Slick – The Ecology of Saturn’s Ring Particles Jan. 12, 2012
Two sets of measurements made by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in the ultraviolet and infrared ranges of radiation have provided new insights into the behavior and make-up of Saturn’s ring particles. Researchers using Cassini’s ultraviolet imaging spectrograph have shown that the processes that form temporary clumps of particles and then destroy them are driven by the gravity of some of Saturn’s moons. The numbers of large and small clumps appear to follow what in biology is called a “predator-prey relationship” that governs, for example, the numbers of foxes and hares in an area. Researchers using Cassini’s composite infrared spectrometer and theoretical models have also characterized the sizes, speeds of rotation and the "surface densities" of particles in different zones of the rings.
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Read the Science League stories sent out this year.
Science League stories are archived from 2009 to the present.
Science League stories are archived from 2009 to the present.
