Steve Squyres, Cornell professor of astronomy and the principal scientific investigator for the Mars rover mission, took a break from his hectic schedule this July to talk to Cornell News Service Senior Science Editor David Brand about the progress of the history-making mission.
Jupiter's intricate, swirling ring system is formed by dust kicked up as interplanetary meteoroids smash into the giant planet's four, small inner moons, according to scientists studying data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Images sent by Galileo also reveal that the outermost ring is actually two rings, one embedded within the other.