New analysis of data from Cassini shows that Saturn's rings are not smooth, but rather are grainy in texture. Scientists believe that tiny moons within the rings cause materials to cluster and ...

Ring B, the brightest, densest, and most pronounced of Saturn’s rings, also displays the most texture, generally allowing observers to perceive plenty of detail.

Saturn's rings are a complex mix of stripes, ... This new close-up reveals a speckled, lumpy texture (in the bright, rippled region) adjacent to a smooth texture (in the darker regions).

Sailing high above Saturn's equator, ... Cassini is indicating the ring particles’ texture and density. Science News sponsorship position. The craft has toured Saturn for nearly 3 years.

NASA’s Cassini mission officially ended way back in 2017. It was then that the spacecraft plunged into Saturn, destroying itself in a blaze of glory, … ...

An optical illusion during Saturn's equinox is to blame for the rings disappearing from view briefly. The next time this is set to happen is May 6, 2025.

And the event is relatively rare: Ring plane crossings — as the phenomenon is known — typically occur twice during the 29.4 years it takes Saturn to make one orbit around the sun.

Saturn's rings are mostly made up of ice, asteroids, comets and moon fragments. In May 2025, the massive celestial loops will be effectively invisible to the human eye.

This Aug. 22, 2009 image made available by NASA shows a section of Saturn's rings, as seen from the Cassini spacecraft. The icy rings could be around 4.5 billion years old just like Saturn, a ...

Saturn’s rings are mostly made up of chunks of ice and rock. Which are under constant bombardment: Some by UV radiation from the Sun and others by tiny meteoroids.

Saturn's rings will disappear from view of ground-based telescopes in 2025. Here's why. Every 13-15 years, Saturn is angled in a way in which the edge of its thin rings are oriented toward Earth ...

NASA image showing how Saturn's rings will appear to disappear during its equinox in 2025. NASA. The last time this was visible was in September 2009, and will occur again in October 2038.