Something Positive: Astronomers Say They Have Solved One of Saturn’s Greatest Mysteries | A Sign of Progress

Something Positive: Astronomers Say They Have Solved One of Saturn’s Greatest Mysteries | A Sign of Progress

Why this story matters: In a time when pessimism is easy, this story provides a grounded reason for optimism. Quick summary: This story highlights recent developments related to science, showing how constructive action can lead to meaningful results. Saturn eclipsed by Titan as seen from the Cassini probe – credit, NASA/JPL-Caltech A neat feat of calculation and deduction may have solved one of our solar system’s greatest mysteries. Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is bigger than Mercury, yet for all its conspicuousness, scientists don’t know exactly how it came to be so large that it’s gravitational influence causes Saturn to tilt and wobble. There are some 274 moons that orbit Saturn, the solar-system’s second largest planet, and Matija Ćuk, a research scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, proposes a theory that one of these collided with Titan in the planet’s ancient past, enlarging it in the process. Would you like to read more good news about Science , Astronom…