PASADENA, Calif. – Scientists have found a new moon hidden in one of Saturn's dazzling outer rings. The international Cassini spacecraft spotted the moon, which measures about a third of a mile wide. The discovery was announced Tuesday in a notice by the International Astronomical Union.
A mosaic of images show Saturn's moon Titan's south polar region acquired as Cassini passed by at a range of 339,000 kilometers (210,600 miles) on July 2, 2004 and released in this July 3, 2004 file image.
(AP Photo/NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)Researchers have long puzzled over the formation of Saturn's G ring, one of the planet's more mysterious arcs. They now think the G ring was likely formed from icy debris that scattered when meteorites crash into the newfound moon.
Scientists confirmed the moon's existence last summer after analyzing images from Cassini. Saturn has over five dozen moons.
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