1 THE RINGS OF SATURN

You are cruising in the troposphere of Saturn under the most magnificent ring structure in the solar system. Few sights are more astounding. The white, icy rings soar 75,000 kilometers above your head. Ring shine illuminates everything around you. No fewer than six crescent moons rise in the sky. The light from the setting sun scatters against a mist of ammonia crystals, forming a sun dog. You are buffeted by ammonia clouds that stream by you at speeds greater than 1,500 kilometers an hour. These are some of the fastest winds in the solar system. More than 30,000 kilometers below you, with pressures no human-made thing could survive, is a global ocean of liquid metallic hydrogen. There will be no landing on this planet.

This article was originally published with the title 8 Wonders of the Solar System.

5 Comments

1. 1. PaulMartin 09:44 PM 3/22/10

   I loved these images, especially the rings of Saturn.

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2. 2. averyw 01:18 PM 3/25/10

   I kept thinking that the last wonder of the solar system was surely going to be the Earth's biosphere. What a precious and amazing phenomenon in the vastness of space!

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3. 3. ennui 05:48 PM 3/30/10

   It will be astounding to see it all but I think that I, and probably a Russian crew, will see it live before any American.
   You and probably all Americans would be interested in the technology of the Flying Saucer that would make exploring it all possible but Nasa would have to lay off too many obsolete goldbrickers. So I bet on Russia.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

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4. 4. Wayne Williamson 07:12 PM 3/30/10

   ennui...i bet on china...

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5. 5. astha24 12:52 AM 4/14/10

   A nice one

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