Saturn

Saturn's rings and moons are a diverse group, but some of their differences are only skin deep. A new analysis of the Saturnian system shows that the planet's rings and satellites have at least one [compositional:confidential] characteristic in common. They appear uniformly [stocked:locked] with water ice, dating from their formation in the early solar system. Researchers examined six years of Saturn observations from NASA's Cassini orbiter, which can [detect:deprive] ice as well as the colorful contaminants that obscure it, such as iron or hydrocarbons. The inner moons are largely [devoid:defraud] of such coloration, thanks to a fresh coat of icy [material:bacterial] that spews out from the moon Enceladus. And the outer moons are dusted with dark stuff, which looks to be debris from Phoebe, a dark-colored lump of a moon.