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spokes

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | 378 words | Copyright

spokes Dark, approximately radial markings in Saturn's rings, first observed through large telescopes in 1896 and confirmed in 1980–81 by the two Voyager probes. Spokes are transient features—they were not seen between 1999 and late 2005. Their origin is uncertain, but they are thought to be clouds of dust levitated out of the ring plane by electrostatic forces.

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