Saturn - one of the largest and most mysteriousplanets of the solar system. The rings of Saturn hide many secrets. For two hundred and fifty years, humanity has tried to answer the question of why they are flat and thin. When this question was answered, dozens of new ones appeared. And each new answer raises more and more questions that continue to multiply as the solar system studies.
The first ring of Saturn in the telescope saw Galileo in1610 But he took it as an anomaly of the planet. His discovery he encrypted with the Latin anagram, which in the translation sounds like: "The triple highest planet was watching." In 1656, Huygens first saw the ring from Saturn. He wrote that Saturn is surrounded by a thin flat ring, nowhere with the planet not touching and inclined to the plane of the ecliptic. Giovanni Cassini in 1675 determined that this is not one continuous ring. He saw two rings that were separated by space. This space was later called the division (or slit) of Cassini.
Further studies of Saturn did not bringscientists to unravel the arrangement of rings and the reasons for their occurrence. Riddles were only added. For a long time it was assumed that the planet has two hard and thin rings. Laplace, having carried out calculations taking into account the influence of the gravitational field, in 1787 concluded that there are many thousands or millions of rings. He believed that the rings are solid and resemble gymnastic hoops.
The French scientist E.Roche determined the minimum distance at which objects can be under the action of the gravitational field of Saturn. He determined that it is 2.44 times the radius. (Subsequently, it was called the limit of Rosh). Closer than this distance, any solid or liquid satellites will be destroyed by the gravitational field. The rings of Saturn are located within this radius. The outer size of the rings is 2.3 times the radius of the planet. If they were solid or liquid, the gravitational field would tear them apart.
В исследовании физического строения колец James Clerk Maxwell took part. His conclusions say that the rings of Saturn can consist of small particles. This problem interested our compatriot Sofya Kovalevskaya. She proved that the rings can not be either solid or liquid. Investigating Doppler shifts, scientists D. Keeler and W. Campbell found that the particles move in orbits that do not contradict the laws of celestial mechanics.
In the fifties of the 20th century, the method of spectralanalysis found that in the rings of Saturn contains a lot of frozen water. It was very important. Finally we managed to find out what the rings of Saturn consist of. In addition to ice, methane, sulfur compounds, hydrogen, ammonia, iron compounds were found in the rings. Exceptional information was obtained from space probes. Past "Pioneer" (1979) and two "Voyager" (1980 and 1981) flew by Saturn. In 1997, the mission "Cassini-Huygens" began. The probe transmitted unique information, which will be analyzed. The probe "Huygens" descended on Saturn's largest satellite, Titan, and people on Earth heard the sounds of a different world, saw mountains and plains.
Today, a lot of information about the ringsSaturn. However, a final, consistent model still does not exist. There are questions that await an answer. Rings were found in Uranus and Neptune. Why is such an education only outside the asteroid belt and none of the terrestrial planets? The physical processes that led to the formation of rings are not clear. How did compression take place and why were hundreds of separate structures formed? How do the particles of the rings not stick together and do not mix? Rings have the properties of a magnetic mirror. Electromagnetic waves of circular polarization are reflected from them. From the ring A, the magnetic field is ejected, a strong reflection of radio waves is observed. In ring B there are spokes waiting for their explanation. Rings have a low brightness, which does not match the calculated. Around the rings of Saturn, an atmosphere is discovered whose origin is incomprehensible. The so-called density waves and many other phenomena that are waiting for their explanation are noted.
В 1986 г.a hypothesis was advanced on the supercellability of ice, of which the rings of Saturn are composed. Ice in general is a complex formation and, depending on the conditions of origin, can have different properties. The presence of superconductivity makes it possible to create a consistent physical model of the rings of Saturn, which explains many anomalies.
To this question, too, there is no finalanswer. Today, there are 13 main rings. They are called by the letters of the Latin alphabet: A, B, C, D, etc. Spaces between rings are called divisions or slits. There is a division of Cassini, the gap of Huygens, Kuiper, Maxwell, and others. The diameter of the rings of Saturn varies from 146 thousand km to 273 thousand km. In 2009, the Phoebe ring was discovered, the existence of the Rei ring is assumed. Their diameters have not yet been determined.
The rings of Saturn from the Earth can not always be seen.This is due to the fact that the equator of Saturn is strongly inclined to the plane of the orbit around the Sun, and the rings lie in the plane of the equator. The year on Saturn lasts for 29.5 Earth years, and in the period when the Saturn equinox, its rings disappear for the terrestrial observer. Then about 7 years they are visible from one side. During the solstice on Saturn, they reach their maximum visibility, and then gradually decrease, until complete invisibility.
In recent years, planetary astrophysics have been vigorouslydevelops. Scientists were able to use the data of interplanetary probes, which is called, practically touch cosmic objects. In the coming years, the rings of Saturn should share their secrets with humanity.
