Adam Fuller

Columbia University, BA Candidate

Saturn's Rings From A To G

From Galileo to NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission, humans have been observing Saturn's rings for 400 years. Many theories about the true nature of the rings have been put forth: giant arms, a huge revolving dinner plate, the remnants of a destroyed moon. Even more fascinating is the variety of structure and phenomena unique to each of the rings. The A ring has surfing moons that create undulating waves within the ring. The B ring, the brightest ring, has giant dark spokes that rotate around the planet. And the thin, whispy F ring is braided into knots by two moons racing along its edges. We will look at this and more as we tour the rings of Saturn.