Saturn was already a gaudy planet. I mean, just look at it, lording it over the rest of the planets with its big, flashy rings. Yes, there are four other planets with rings, but none of them have the flashiness of Saturn, the Liberace of planets. Just when you thought Saturn couldn’t get more obnoxious, NASA skywatchers have discovered a new giant ring around the planet. Typical!
Saturn’s new gigantic ring marks the orbit of the planet’s moon Phoebe, and is believed to have been created over the eons as a result of stuff slamming into the moon and raising a cloud of dust. Over time, that formed the largest planetary ring in the solar system. It makes me wonder if Earth will ever get a ring from all the garbage we’ve dumped into near space, and if that ring could be removed should it start punching holes in the space station and wreaking havoc.
Image: NASA
Tags: the universe, largest ring in the solar system, Saturn, Spitzer Space Telescope, new ring discovered on Saturn, the planets, space news