Hacker News Reader

How discrete are the rings of Saturn? Do they look continuous due to the long exposure time of a photograph? Would they look more like an asteroid belt if we could increase the shutter speed?

View on HN

Discrete enough to have names of their subdivisions-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Saturn#Subdivisions_a...

Those are gaps between rings. I'm asking about the rings themselves - would they look more like dotted lines?

>> They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometers to meters

>> The densest parts of the Saturnian ring system are the A and B Rings,

I don't see anything that says exactly how dense the rings are, though...

I think that when you're close enough to resolve a meter-sized (car-sized) object, the ring would look like a straight band to you. From where you can see the rings curved, you must see them as "solid".

You made me curious. I can’t find any technical information how the pictures were made but I wonder. The rings are between 10m and 1km thick which is pretty thin.

Check here for information about the instruments: https://pds-atmospheres.nmsu.edu/data_and_services/atmospher...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com