The Cassini spacecraft has allowed astronomers to detect two previously unseen moons circling gas-giant Saturn, Sneak hears. The pair were pinpointed by Dr Sébastien Charnoz, part of a team of boffins scrutinising Cassini imagery at the University of Paris. Or, rather, the elusive moons were spotted by Charnoz's faithful laptop while Charnoz was off enjoying himself. "I had looked for such objects for weeks while at my office in Paris, but it was only once on holiday, using my laptop, that my code eventually detected them," he said. "This tells me I should take more holidays."

17 Aug 2004