The second largest moon Rhea against Saturn transit

The second largest moon of Saturn might have its own ring system, which has not been found in any other known satellite, according to a study by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Lindau Katllenburg-(Germany) published in the journal Science.

The researchers, led by Geraint Jones, analyzed data from the spacecraft Cassini, "which recently flew over Rhea, and report on a surprising lack of electrons around the moon. This phenomenon is interesting because Rhea lies within Saturn's magnetosphere, a vast magnetic bubble that surrounds the planet and kept inside a trapped ions and electrons.

After ruling out several explanations, the study authors suggest that the cause of the absence of electrons could be in a disk of solid material around Rhea orbit, similar to what has Saturn itself, but of course, a much smaller scale.

According to scientists, this material could be absorbing electrons and other particles from the magnetosphere. The authors add that several fleeting disappearance observed by electron probe "Cassini, NASA, also suggest the presence of narrow rings around the moon.

Rhea, one of the largest moons in the Solar System and the second largest behind only Saturn's Titan, has a very stable orbit, so the scientists argue in their article that the rings that may surround this world have been able to be there from its inception. The second largest moon of Saturn is named after the Titan who was born female, according to Greek mythology, Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth).