dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (10/14/84)
Light from a distant star in the constellation Scorpius told us something new about the rings of Saturn. More about scorpions, rings and starlight -- after this. October 14 The Crown of the Scorpion Some stars are distinctive not because they're bright -- but because they're part of a recognizable pattern in the sky. That's the case with the star Delta in the constellation Scorpius -- a constellation that actually looks like what it's supposed to be -- a scorpion -- with a curving pattern of stars that looks like a scorpion's tail. A pattern of three stars form a small arc in front of the tail -- marking the forehead or front of the scorpion. These three stars are sometimes called the Crown of the Scorpion. The middle star in this arc is Delta Scorpii -- now visible low in the southwest each evening. Besides its position in the Crown of the Scorpion -- Delta Scorpii has another claim to distinction. When Voyager II visited the planet Saturn, astronomers used the light from the star Delta Scorpii to discover something surprising about Saturn's rings. As the spacecraft traveled past the planet, it saw Delta Scorpii pass behind Saturn's rings. A light sensing instrument was pointed toward Delta Scorpii. From measurements of its light, it was shown that there are very few real gaps in Saturn's rings. Instead, the rings are more like waves in a sheet of icy particles. Next Sunday Delta Scorpii will be near another planet from our vantagepoint here on Earth -- one that you can see. We'll tell you more about that later this week. Script by Deborah Byrd and Diana Hadley. (c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin