Astronomers hope that the Cassini probe
will help them to work out how Saturn's rings first formed,
and how long they have been there.
The probe's instruments should also reveal
why Saturn's turbulent weather patterns move so fast, and
what lies beneath those stormy clouds. Saturn is a gas giant
that bulges around its middle because it spins so fast,
but little is known about the planet's internal structure.
Saturn emits about 80% more radiation than
it receives from the Sun, and there are questions about
where the planet gets this extra energy. The planet's magnetic
shield also puzzles scientists, because it is unusually
well aligned with Saturn's axis of rotation, and big enough
to interact with many of the 31 orbiting moons.
Of all these moons, Titan rules supreme:
it is larger than the planet Mercury and is the only moon
with an atmosphere. The Huygens probe, currently piggy-backing
on Cassini, will fly through Titan's thick clouds of hydrocarbon
smog and try to land on the surface in January 2005.
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