October 27, 2007 Weekly Update ‘Propeller’ moonlets strengthen theory of Saturn’s rings PARIS: A clutch of baby moons detected in Saturn’s outermost ring has bolstered a theory that the giant planet's magnificent circles were created from icy satellites that smashed up over tens of millions of years. Eight “moonlets” — large boulders measuring between 60 and 140 metres across — were spotted by the US-Italian probe Cassini as they swung through Saturn’s A ring. As they move forward, the rocks scatter aside smaller debris in front and behind. The disturbance in the dense particle field of the A ring looks from a distance like tiny propeller shapes. The astronomers, at the University of Colorado, found the “propellers” were concentrated in a narrow, 3,000-km section of the ring, 130,000 kms from Saturn. —AFP Shipwreck survivor found OAXACA, Mexico: A Salvadoran man who had been on board a boat that capsized last week off Mexico’s Pacific coast was been found alive on Monday, bringing the number of survivers to three . The boat carrying Central American migrants seeking to illegally enter the United States capsized on Friday in rough waters off the coast of southern Mexico. —AFP World’s biggest pre-release pirate music site netted LONDON: British and Dutch police said they shut down Tuesday the website OiNK, the world’s biggest source of pirated pre-release chart albums. OiNK distributed albums often weeks ahead of their official release date. More than 60 major album releases had been leaked onto the Internet so far this year. The site had an estimated membership of 180,000. People were only invited to become members if they could prove they had music to offer and had to keep posting tracks to maintain their membership. “OiNK was central to the illegal distribution of pre-release music online,” said Jeremy Banks, head of the IFPI’s Internet anti-piracy unit. —AFP Stowaway charged with trespassing KUALA LUMPUR: A Palestinian man who stowed away in a jetliner’s wheel carriage from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore has been charged in Malaysia for trespassing in a protected area at the airport. Osama R.M. Shublaq, 28, faces up to two years in jail and a fine if convicted. Shublaq fell out from the front wheel well of a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 shortly after it landed at Singapore’s Changi Airport on October 11. He was dizzy from lack of oxygen after the 55-minute flight, but was otherwise unhurt. Shublaq sneaked into the airport’s restricted zone and evaded close-circuit television cameras by scaling two perimeter fences. He then climbed into the nose wheel of the Singapore Airlines flight. —AP

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