Discoveries Already.

The international Cassini spacecraft went face-to-face with Saturn's rings last week, grabbing the sharpest pictures yet of their complex dynamic behavior in a closeup pass that will not be repeated during the course of the four-year mission. A series of seven major turns were required in the 6-hour event, and during the burn it slowly slewed the spacecraft 46 degree to keep the thrust pointed along the curving path. The spacecraft was going to cross upward through a gap in Saturn's rings and while all indications were that the gap was clear, there was concern about striking little particles.