Cassini Images Show Saturn's Rings Containing Millions Of 'Moonlets'

In the most detailed images of Saturn's rings captured by the Cassini mission, scientists have found some interesting features they have never seen before.

The Guardian reported that Saturn's icy rings display millions of orbiting "moonlets" in the most detailed image captured by the Cassini spacecraft in nearly 13 years. Now in their "ring-grazing" orbiting phase, astronomers have spotted never before seen features dubbed as "straw" and "propellers."

The set of high-definition images released by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, are scaled at 550 meters, giving a closer look to the planetary rings' icy debris, dust and rocks. The "straws" and "propellers" were reportedly caused by a cluster of the ring particles, which they believe were created by "moonlets" orbiting the planet.

"As the person who planned those initial orbit-insertion ring images -- which remained our most detailed views of the rings for the past 13 years -- I am taken aback by how vastly improved are the details in this new collection," said Cassini Imaging Team Lead Carolyn Porco of Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado, in NASA's press release.

The Cassini mission is now nearly halfway through its penultimate mission phase of 20 orbits, diving past the outer edge of the main ring system. The ring-grazing orbits started last November and will make its final 22 orbits in April. The spacecraft is scheduled to take a plunge into Saturn's surface on April 26.

"These close views represent the opening of an entirely new window onto Saturn's rings," said Matthew Tiscareno, a Cassini scientist who studies Saturn's rings at the SETI Institute, Mountain View, California. "And over the next few months we look forward to even more exciting data as we train our cameras on other parts of the rings closer to the planet."

New, incredibly close views of Saturn's rings from our "Ring-Grazing" orbits. https://t.co/SUKjTqg1dX pic.twitter.com/TJkD9TPjyX

— CassiniSaturn (@CassiniSaturn) January 30, 2017