Thickness of The Rings Of Saturn

That BBC drama thing recently, that we had the big discussion about
(its name eludes me at the moment), it suggested that the rings were
only about 380-or-something feet thick. Call it 100 metres in English,
maybe a bit more.

Is that pretty much right?

It seems odd that the rings are so far away yet so very thin! Now, whenever
I see the rings, that's what goes through my mind.

How old are they, and are they thought to be stable? (Almost the same
question.)

Interested to read thoughts and informed opinion!



Martin
--
M.A.Poyser Tel.: 07967 110890
Manchester, U.K. http://www.fleetie.demon.co.uk

"Fleetie" wrote:

That BBC drama thing recently, that we had the big discussion about
(its name eludes me at the moment), it suggested that the rings were
only about 380-or-something feet thick. Call it 100 metres in English,
maybe a bit more.

Is that pretty much right?

It seems odd that the rings are so far away yet so very thin! Now, whenever
I see the rings, that's what goes through my mind.

How old are they, and are they thought to be stable? (Almost the same
question.)

Interested to read thoughts and informed opinion!

This just arrived from spaceflight now news alert

SATURN'S OUTER RINGS MAY BE ERODING, CASSINI DATA SHOWS
-------------------------------------------------------
A massive eruption of atomic oxygen from Saturn's outer rings, seen by
Cassini's ultraviolet camera as the spacecraft neared its destination,
may be an indication that the planet's wispy E ring is eroding so fast
that it could disappear within 100 million years if not replenished.

http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/041218rings.html

-----------------------------
Martin Frey
http://www.hadastro.org.uk
N 51 01 52.2 E 0 47 21.1
-----------------------------

The E ring is certainly something of an oddity, so perhaps it is not
surprising if it is temporary. It is surely no coincidence that within it
are moonlets of kinds not known of elsewhere in the Solar System, including
two orbiting between the orbits of the much larger Enceladus and Mimas, and
three in the Lagrangian points of (even larger) Tethys and Dione.

"Martin Frey" wrote in message
...

This just arrived from spaceflight now news alert

SATURN'S OUTER RINGS MAY BE ERODING, CASSINI DATA SHOWS
-------------------------------------------------------
A massive eruption of atomic oxygen from Saturn's outer rings, seen by
Cassini's ultraviolet camera as the spacecraft neared its destination,
may be an indication that the planet's wispy E ring is eroding so fast
that it could disappear within 100 million years if not replenished.

http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/041218rings.html

-----------------------------
Martin Frey
http://www.hadastro.org.uk
N 51 01 52.2 E 0 47 21.1