Overview in last February by the team, the ring is nearly 6 million miles from Saturn, covers 12 million miles and did not broadcast a lot of light. Despite its huge size, the "Lord of the Rings" had never been distinguished in the Saturnian system. But through the observatory's infrared telescope "Spitzer "is now done.

This ring gives off very cold dust particles , reaching -157 ° C. According to astronomers, Phoebe, one of 61 moons of Saturn, is the source of his material. Another discovery, the giant ring could explain the appearance of another moon Iapetus, which has a shiny side and one dark as the Yin and Yang. Small particles of the ring move toward the center and eventually as their path on the dark side of Iapetus.

The mission "Spitzer", launched in 2003, is led by the "Jet Propulsion Laboratory" (JPL) of NASA. The space telescope is currently in orbit around the Sun at 106 million kilometers from Earth.

Explore the images:

Photos Un anneau géant découvert autour de Saturne