Go back
Contest

Contest

General

Vote Up
Vote Down

No looking this up. Just to make it interesting. It will be fun to see the different estimates. If you could take all of the material in Saturns Ring System and lump them into a ball ... What would the balls diameter be?

Facts:

1 - Saturns ring materials are the density of extremely cold ice... because that is what they mostly are.

2 - Saturns rings are about 400,000 kilometers across.

3 - The rings are about 100 meters thick.

Good luck. The winner gets a free ticket on the next rocket to Saturn.😲

Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by StarValleyWy
No looking this up. Just to make it interesting. It will be fun to see the different estimates. If you could take all of the material in Saturns Ring System and lump them into a ball ... What would the balls diameter be?

Facts:

1 - Saturns ring materials are the density of extremely cold ice... because that is what they mostly are.

2 - Saturns ...[text shortened]... t 100 meters thick.

Good luck. The winner gets a free ticket on the next rocket to Saturn.😲
14,000,000km I think (Just a wild guess)🙂

2 edits
Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by koolkat
14,000,000km I think (Just a wild guess)🙂
Nice Guess.😕 However... that size ball of water would encompass and drown Saturn and all it's moons....😛 Not good?🙄🙂

Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by StarValleyWy
No looking this up. Just to make it interesting. It will be fun to see the different estimates. If you could take all of the material in Saturns Ring System and lump them into a ball ... What would the balls diameter be?

Facts:

1 - Saturns ring materials are the density of extremely cold ice... because that is what they mostly are.

2 - Saturns ...[text shortened]... t 100 meters thick.

Good luck. The winner gets a free ticket on the next rocket to Saturn.😲
Well, if the rings were completely solid, it'd be about 3000 km in diameter. However, I imagine that the rings are pretty sparse, so it would be far smaller than this. Any clues as to how much of the ring system is ice, and how much is empty space?

1 edit
Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by Acolyte
Well, if the rings were completely solid, it'd be about 3000 km in diameter. However, I imagine that the rings are pretty sparse, so it would be far smaller than this. Any clues as to how much of the ring system is ice, and how much is empty space?
Well... I guess a "gentle" hint is appropriate... The voyagers cut up through the inner most band of rings without being destroyed.

<edit> oops. Scratch the hint. It was Jupiters rings that one of the voyagers maneuvered through. I think. I'm doing this from memory... and the old grey mind ain't what it used to be.:'(

New hint... The rings wouldn't stop a bullet. Unless it hit one of the rare chunks of ice.

Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by StarValleyWy
Well... I guess a "gentle" hint is appropriate... The voyagers cut up through the inner most band of rings without being destroyed.
14000?

Vote Up
Vote Down

I'd say about... 320 km.

Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by Souska
14000?
Lower

Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by Pyrrho
I'd say about... 320 km.
Lower

1 edit
Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by StarValleyWy
Lower
310 km

Vote Up
Vote Down

100?

Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by Pyrrho
100?
Bingo!

My source for this is a SF novel called "Saturn" by Ben Bova © 2003

Page 111 he states...

"The ring's total mass amounts to that of an icy satellite no more than a hundred kilometers in diameter."

I will mail you the free tickets on the next rocket to Saturn as soon as I can bribe a government somewhere on earth into building the rocket. Enjoy the trip!😵 PS... might be a little wait for the tickets as my bribery budget is only about a hundred dollars, max.😛

Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by StarValleyWy
Bingo!

My source for this is a SF novel called "Saturn" by Ben Bova © 2003

Page 111 he states...

"The ring's total mass amounts to that of an icy satellite no more than a hundred kilometers in diameter."

I will mail you the free tickets on the next rocket to Saturn as soon as I can bribe a government somewhere on earth into building the ...[text shortened]... ht be a little wait for the tickets as my bribery budget is only about a hundred dollars, max.😛
Yay! Going to Saturn! I'm sure you'll succeed... eventually! 🙄

ps. I hope there's a return ticket too... 😕

-Jarno

Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by Pyrrho
Yay! Going to Saturn! I'm sure you'll succeed... eventually! 🙄

ps. I hope there's a return ticket too... 😕

-Jarno
Shoot! how could someone else get it

Vote Up
Vote Down

Originally posted by Pyrrho
Yay! Going to Saturn! I'm sure you'll succeed... eventually! 🙄

ps. I hope there's a return ticket too... 😕

-Jarno
Jarno... with my bribery budget only a hundred bucks... you might not actually end up anywhere near Saturn. I'll do my best, but the small print on these tickets is REALLY, REALLY important to read. In other words, should you decide to go... a return trip is probably not something you should worry about very much.😕