Saturns new ring - big and vague

mike65

article

jumpguy

Question: How does Saturn's gravity extend out THAT far?

Turtwig

jumpguy wrote: »

Question: How does Saturn's gravity extend out THAT far?

Saturn is prettyyyyyyyy big.:)

Kevster

I read about this with fascination, as it links up two moons around Saturn rather nicely: The ring is formed from Phoebe, and these dusty particles in the ring then 'smash' into Iapetus (the 'two-faced' moon). So, this ring explains both why Phoebe appears all fragmented, and why Iapetus has it's two 'faces'. The ring is also inclined at such an angle that supports this theory.

I have been studying Saturn in my spare time since the Cassini-Huygens mission was launched. by the way, Saturn's gravity extends out much further than even the distance that this ring does. The effects of Jupiter's gravity can be felt even here. Picture gravity as a kind of asymptote: It becomes less and less influencial, but never actually reaches zero.

Turtwig

Kevster wrote: »

Picture gravity

Urgh...

That thought always makes my head nauseous
I cannot imagine gravity in the slightest. I think I know what it does, but it still makes my head spin when trying to imagine it.

Kevster

Hi,

I look upon it in different ways, but this way is the one I imagine the most:

http://www.irtc.org/ftp/pub/stills/1997-06-30/gravity.jpg

So, you see the indents that each body is making? - That's the extent of their gravitational 'pull'. Then again, I also look upon gravity as being a simply electrical particle. Picture the Sun as being negative, for example, and the Earth positive. The difference in charge attracts the two together. While gravity doesn't work in this way, it might help you understand it better.

Turtwig

Kevster wrote: »

Hi,

I look upon it in different ways, but this way is the one I imagine the most:

http://www.irtc.org/ftp/pub/stills/1997-06-30/gravity.jpg

So, you see the indents that each body is making? - That's the extent of their gravitational 'pull'. Then again, I also look upon gravity as being a simply electrical particle. Picture the Sun as being negative, for example, and the Earth positive. The difference in charge attracts the two together. While gravity doesn't work in this way, it might help you understand it better.

It's trying to 'imagine' the well,ripples and fabric that makes my head spin.:)

Kevster

...shouldn't you be in bed?! Wait, shouldn't I be? - Yeh, I should! Goodnight dude. Did you know that they haven't actually detected gravity? They can just measure it's effect, but there is no actual 'graviton'. A 'graviton' is the theoretical particle that is thought to exist, where gravit is concerned.

One thing of interest is that 'gravity' seems to act at light speed only. Like, if the Sun was to suddenly vanish, the gravitational effect this had on EArth would not be felt until 8 minutes after it vanished. 8 minutes is roughly the amount of time it takes for light to reach the Earth from the Sun.

Turtwig

Kevster wrote: »

...shouldn't you be in bed?! Wait, shouldn't I be? - Yeh, I should! Goodnight dude. Did you know that they haven't actually detected gravity? They can just measure it's effect, but there is no actual 'graviton'. A 'graviton' is the theoretical particle that is thought to exist, where gravit is concerned.

One thing of interest is that 'gravity' seems to act at light speed only. Like, if the Sun was to suddenly vanish, the gravitational effect this had on EArth would not be felt until 8 minutes after it vanished. 8 minutes is roughly the amount of time it takes for light to reach the Earth from the Sun.

This might float your boat then...
Detecting GW waves:)

Watch that then go to bed

kart

Interesting story, and pic is stunning, absolutely stunning...

Beeker

Very interesting stuff!!
My understanding is that gravity extends for ever but its effect deminishes with distance. In other words the gravitational "pull" from a single atom will extend and be measurable {if you could get an instrument that sensitive} at the edge of the universe!

Turtwig

kart wrote: »

Interesting story, and pic is stunning, absolutely stunning...

It's not an actual picture though... it's just an artists impression. Still awesome though.

Kevster

Beeker wrote: »

Very interesting stuff!!
My understanding is that gravity extends for ever but its effect deminishes with distance. In other words the gravitational "pull" from a single atom will extend and be measurable {if you could get an instrument that sensitive} at the edge of the universe!

Didn't I just say that? :rolleyes: