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Composition
of Rings
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In 1857 James Clerk Maxwell
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also
famous for: Maxwell's Equations
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Calculated
tidal forces on thin sheet
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Suggested
Saturn's rings must be composed of many small particles
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In
1895 James Keeler measured Doppler shift of reflected light from rings
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Inner
part of rings moves faster
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consistent
with Kepler's 3rd law (P2 = a3)
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confirmed
Maxwell's calculations
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Rings
reflect 80% of sunlight that hits them
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Voyager
fly by measured
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temperature
of rings -180o C to
-200o C
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sizes:
1 cm to 5 m
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average
size 10 cm
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What
are the rings made of?
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Why
didn't Saturn's rings form a moon?
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