Astronomical discovery: 'Super Saturn' with rings 200 times as large

CNN ^ | 28 Jan 15 | Ben Brumfield

[Drew68]

(CNN)In 1610, after he built his telescope, Galileo Galilei first spotted enormous Saturn's gigantic rings. More than 400 years later, astronomers have in a sense dwarfed that discovery with a similar first.

Using powerful optics, they have found a much larger planet-like body, J1407b, with rings 200 times the size of Saturn's, U.S. and Dutch astronomers said.

It lies some 400 light-years away from Earth.

For decades, scientists have believed that many moons around large planets formed out of such ring systems. But this is the first one astronomers have observed aside from Saturn's, they said.

It was discovered in 2012, but a detailed analysis of its data was recently completed and published.

Dominating the sky

If J1407b were in our solar system, it would dominate Earth's nightly sky.

[SunkenCiv]

Oooh, aaaah! And that’s just the artist’s conception! Thanks colorado tanker. Extra to APoD. Have a great day, all!

[SunkenCiv]

Nope, the only way to have ancestors alive in 400 years is, a la Douglas Adams, an accident with a contraceptive in a time machine. And it must have happened already whether it has happened or not, just to be confusing.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks colorado tanker.

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[KoRn]

That would be so cool to see during the day!

Of course, I never like seeing ‘artist conceptions’, because they aren’t real. Just a drawn up, glorified ‘guess’. Fascinating to think about. Would LOVE to see an actual image of this planet, but it’s likely not possible with any real detail.

[MHGinTN]

Be interesting to know if that planet has an Hexagonal formation in the clouds at it’s poles.

[henkster]

I remember an edition of the Weekly World News back in the late 1970s or early 1980s, blazing headline: “Secret UFO Base on Saturn’s Moon.” It came with an artist’s conception of what the Secret UFO Base looked like.

Even though if it were really a secret, we wouldn’t know it was there...

Even though at the time neither of the Voyager spacecraft had gotten there yet...

But an artist could come up with a conception of what such a base must surely look like. I’ve been leery of artist’s conceptions since then.

[moose07]

Be interesting to know if that planet has an Hexagonal formation in the clouds at it’s poles.

Should do.....
That is where the hex wrench goes to fasten it down to the cosmic frame work.

[houeto]

Which means we are seeing what was happening when Galileo was doing his thing looking at Saturn. Which also means it may or may not still be there; probably is, but we won't know for another 400 years, by which time it may or may not still be there, but we won't know...

That IS the funniest post that I have read all day! Good job.

[Drew68]

That would be so cool to see during the day!

Of course, I never like seeing ‘artist conceptions’, because they aren’t real. Just a drawn up, glorified ‘guess’. Fascinating to think about.

This short youtube video is kinda cool:

A visit from Saturn: What if Saturn flew past the Earth