text:
Saturn’s G Ring Gets a Moonlet

by Paul Gilster on March 27, 2009

by Larry Klaes

Our fascination with ringed worlds continues to grow as we learn more about what circles the worlds of the outer system. If you’re looking for what may be the most spectacular ring system imagined — two ringed exoplanets locked in a tight gravitational embrace — be sure to read Jack McDevitt’s novel Chindi (Ace, 2003), and spend some time with his crew on the surface of the moon that orbits their center of mass. Meanwhile, join Tau Zero journalist Larry Klaes as he focuses on continuing revelations from Cassini about Saturn’s rings and the moons that feed them. And join us in our celebration of the extended Cassini mission. Who knows what discoveries await?

In the 1968 novel version of 2001: A Space Odyssey, author Arthur C. Clarke said that the magnificent rings of the gas giant planet Saturn were made by visiting advanced extraterrestrial intelligences who tore up some moons in the Saturn system in the process of making their incredible Star Gate. This artificial cosmic wormhole would ages later transport fictional astronaut David Bowman to another part of the Universe in order to transform him into “something wonderful.”

While most scientists are not inclined to believe or suggest that the rings of the second largest planet in the Solar System were made by some aliens on a construction project, they now think that Saturn’s rings were formed with the planet at the beginning of the Solar System roughly five billion years ago. Over the eons, moons would both smash into each other or be torn apart by Saturn’s massive bulk, creating the extensive rings we now see girdling the planet.

Image (click to enlarge): ”It’s full of stars!” David Bowman proclaimed in 2001: A Space Odyssey. This Cassini spacecraft view evokes the exclamation, ”It’s full of moons!” Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

This process continues today. As the first space probe missions to Saturn discovered several decades ago, the rings are still being formed by a number of moons and even smaller moonlets, which contribute debris to the countless number of icy boulders and dust that make up the ring system.

There was one ring section that did not seem to have a moon or moonlet involved in its continued existence, the outer dusty ring labeled simply G. There was an extra collection of material at a certain point in the thin ring, but scientists operating the Cassini probe that is now entering its fifth year in orbit about Saturn had been unable to discover if the G ring had a companion world.

Now the Cassini imaging team, which include members of the Astronomy Department at Cornell University, have at last found the moonlet which supplies the debris for the G ring. The discovery was reported in the March 3 International Astronomical Union (IAU) Circular # 2093.

The moonlet, which has been given the provisional label of S/2008 S1 until an appropriate name from ancient mythology can be chosen, is the 61st known natural satellite for Saturn. This is just two less than the Solar System moon record holder, Jupiter, the largest planet in our celestial neighborhood.

Image: This sequence of three images, obtained by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft over the course of about 10 minutes, shows the path of a newly found moonlet in a bright arc of Saturn’s faint G ring. In each image, a small streak of light within the ring is visible. Unlike the streaks in the background, which are distant stars smeared by the camera’s long exposure time of 46 seconds, this streak is aligned with the G ring and moves along the ring as expected for an object embedded in the ring. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

S/2008 S1 is deeply embedded in the main arc of the G ring. The moonlet’s very small size, only 600 yards across (Earth’s Moon is 2,160 miles in diameter, by comparison), explains why it eluded Cassini’s electronic eyes and those of its imaging team until now.

“Before Cassini, the G ring was the only dusty ring that was not clearly associated with a known moon, which made it odd,” said Matthew Hedman, a Cornell Cassini imaging team associate. “The discovery of this moonlet, together with other Cassini data, should help us make sense of this previously mysterious ring.”

Hedman and colleagues suspected that debris from collisions between micrometeorites and objects within the arc are the likely source for the material that makes up the G ring.

“We had evidence that there were big particles in the arc and thought that collisions between these objects and various micrometeoroids could release the dust that formed the ring,” Hedman said. “[This moon is likely] one of the objects that dust is knocked off of to form the ring.”

There may be other moonlets within the G ring arc, but S/2008 S1 is likely the biggest member of that group. Cassini will be able to photograph this region of Saturn again in 2010 and 2015 to get actual images of the moonlet and any companions in the arc. The discovery images of S/2008 S1 and others taken since then only show a faint smear of light, which is understandable considering the moonlet’s small size.

In addition to providing material to its ring, the little moonlet shares another feature with the other satellites that are involved with their rings: It and the arc are in resonance with a larger outer moon, in this case Mimas, which is best known for having one large crater that makes it look like the Death Star from the film Star Wars. The G ring is the second farthest ring system from Saturn at a distance of 100,000 miles.

Image: Two other moons that have profound impacts on the rings, Mimas and Prometheus, are seen here with the F ring. Mimas (396 kilometers, or 246 miles across), the larger and much more distant of the moons, creates the Cassini division between the A and B rings. Prometheus (86 kilometers, or 53 miles across), although much smaller than Mimas, is half of a duo responsible for maintaining the narrow F ring. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

Last July Cassini was given a two-year extension on its mission and a resulting new designation: The Cassini Equinox Mission. The probe will do sixty more orbits of Saturn during that time, flying by the planet’s largest moon, Titan, 21 times to conduct further radar mapping of the bizarre and fascinating surface otherwise hidden beneath thick orange clouds. Cassini will also make seven close passes of Enceladus, the moon which the machine found to have active geysers spewing ice crystals into space. Both satellites are future targets for deeper exploration, in no small part to see if they are abodes for some kind of life.

bigdan201 March 27, 2009 at 23:51

cool stuff. ive read that saturns rings are somewhat complex, consisting of particles ranging from specks of dust to very small moons. (moonlet is a good descriptive word)

of course, titan is the best moon to investigate and consider for exploration, with its large size, bodies of liquid, hydrocarbons, dense atmosphere, and so on. and enceladus may have liquid water which demands a further look.

saturn is visible in the night sky from where i live in northern new jersey.. im gonna go out and look at it with a telescope.

ljk October 7, 2009 at 23:26

Giant Ring Discovered Around Saturn

NASA Science News for October 7, 2009

Just when you thought every big thing in the Solar System had already been discovered, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has found an extraordinary new “supersized” ring around Saturn.

ljk October 13, 2009 at 9:20

Giant Dust Ring Discovered Around Saturn

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Virginia

Explanation: What has created a large dust ring around Saturn? At over 200 times the radius of Saturn and over 50 times the radius of Saturn’s expansive E ring, the newly discovered dust ring is the largest planetary ring yet imaged. The ring was found in infrared light by the Earth-orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope.

A leading hypothesis for its origin is impact material ejected from Saturn’s moon Phoebe, which orbits right through the dust ring’s middle. An additional possibility is that the dust ring supplies the mysterious material that coats part of Saturn’s moon Iapetus, which orbits near the dust ring’s inner edge.

Pictured above in the inset, part of the dust ring appears as false-color orange in front of numerous background stars.

ljk November 3, 2009 at 0:36

Aegaeon (Saturn LIII), a G-ring object

Authors: M.M. Hedman, N.J. Cooper, C.D.Murray, K. Beurle, M.W. Evans, M.S. Tiscareno, J. A. Burns

(Submitted on 1 Nov 2009)

Abstract: Aegaeon (Saturn LIII, S/2008 S1) is a small satellite of Saturn that orbits within a bright arc of material near the inner edge of Saturn’s G ring. This object was observed in 21 images with Cassini’s Narrow-Angle Camera between June 15 (DOY 166), 2007 and February 20 (DOY 51), 2009.

If Aegaeon has similar surface scattering properties as other nearby small Saturnian satellites (Pallene, Methone and Anthe), then its diameter is approximately 500 m.

Orbit models based on numerical integrations of the full equations of motion show that Aegaeon’s orbital motion is strongly influenced by multiple resonances with Mimas.

In particular, like the G-ring arc it inhabits, Aegaeon is trapped in the 7:6 corotation eccentricity resonance with Mimas. Aegaeon, Anthe and Methone therefore form a distinctive class of objects in the Saturn system: small moons in co-rotation eccentricity resonances with Mimas associated with arcs of debris.

Comparisons among these different ring-arc systems reveal that Aegaeon’s orbit is closer to the exact resonance than Anthe’s and Methone’s orbits are.

This could indicate that Aegaeon has undergone significant orbital evolution via its interactions with the other objects in its arc, which would be consistent with the evidence that Aegaeon’s mass is much smaller relative to the total mass in its arc than Anthe’s and Methone’s masses are.

Comments: 35 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Icarus

Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)

Cite as: arXiv:0911.0171v1 [astro-ph.EP]

Submission history

From: Matthew Hedman [view email]

[v1] Sun, 1 Nov 2009 20:39:35 GMT (3834kb,D)

ljk January 21, 2010 at 0:30
ljk May 19, 2010 at 1:33

A Search for Water Masers in the Saturnian System

Authors: Shigeru Takahashi, Shuji Deguchi, Nario Kuno, Tomomi Shimoikura, Fumi Yoshida

(Submitted on 11 May 2010)

Abstract: We searched for H2O 6(1,6)-5(2,3) maser emission at 22.235 GHz from several Saturnian satellites with the Nobeyama 45m radio telescope in May 2009. Observations were made for Titan, Hyperion, Enceladus and Atlas, for which Pogrebenko et al. (2009) had reported detections of water masers at 22.235 GHz, and in addition for Iapetus and other inner satellites.

We detected no emission of the water maser line for all the satellites observed, although sensitivities of our observations were comparable or even better than those of Pogrebenko et al.. We infer that the water maser emission from the Saturnian system is extremely weak, or sporadic in nature.

Monitoring over a long period and obtaining statistical results must be made for the further understanding of the water maser emission in the Saturnian system.

Comments: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ (Letter)

Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)

Cite as: arXiv:1005.1701v1 [astro-ph.EP]

Submission history

From: Shigeru Takahashi [view email]

[v1] Tue, 11 May 2010 01:47:57 GMT (135kb)

ljk October 23, 2010 at 3:40

Now if this isn’t an interstellar ark/generational ship leaving the Saturn system after collecting antimatter from its rings for its propulsion drive, then I just don’t know:

Okay, it isn’t, but that is what it reminds me of and it is a very cool image to boot.

ljk April 24, 2012 at 12:55

Glittering ‘Mini-Jets’ Found in Saturn’s Curious F-Ring

by Nancy Atkinson on April 23, 2012

New images from the Cassini spacecraft have revealed kilometer-sized objects piercing through parts of Saturn’s F ring, leaving glittering trails behind them.

These trails in the rings, which scientists are calling “mini-jets,” provide insight into the curious behavior of the F ring, which Cassini imaging team leader Carolyn Porco called “Saturn’s most beguiling phenomena.”

With new detailed images, Cassini reveals the intricate workings of the F ring and hordes of tiny moonlet companions creating the trails.

“I think the F ring is Saturn’s weirdest ring, and these latest Cassini results go to show how the F ring is even more dynamic than we ever thought,” said Carl Murray, a Cassini imaging team member from Queen Mary University of London, England.

“These findings show us that the F ring region is like a bustling zoo of objects from a half mile [kilometer] in size to moons like Prometheus a hundred miles [kilometers] in size, creating a spectacular show.”

Full article here:

ljk April 10, 2013 at 13:45

9 April 2013

Text & Image:

NASA funded observations on the W. M. Keck Observatory with analysis led by the University of Leicester, England, tracked the “rain” of charged water particles into the atmosphere of Saturn and found the extent of the ring-rain is far greater, and falls across larger areas of the planet, than previously thought. The work reveals the rain influences the composition and temperature structure of parts of Saturn’s upper atmosphere. The paper appears in this week’s issue of the journal Nature

“Saturn is the first planet to show significant interaction between its atmosphere and ring system,” said James O’Donoghue, the paper’s lead author and a postgraduate researcher at Leicester. “The main effect of ring rain is that it acts to ‘quench’ the ionosphere of Saturn, severely reducing the electron densities in regions in which it falls.”

O’Donoghue said the ring’s effect on electron densities is important because it explains why, for many decades, observations have shown electron densities to be unusually low at some latitudes at Saturn.

“It turns out a major driver of Saturn’s ionospheric environment and climate across vast reaches of the planet are ring particles located 120,000 miles [200,000 kilometers] overhead,” said Kevin Baines, a co-author on the paper, based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “The ring particles affect which species of particles are in this part of the atmospheric temperature.”

In the early 1980s, images from NASA’s Voyager spacecraft showed two to three dark bands on Saturn and scientists theorized that water could have been showering down into those bands from the rings. Those bands were not seen again until 2011 when the team observed the planet with Keck Observatory’s NIRSPEC, a unique, near-infrared spectrograph that combines broad wavelength coverage with high spectral resolution, allowing the observers to clearly see subtle emissions from the bright parts of Saturn.

The ring rain’s effect occurs in Saturn’s ionosphere (Earth has a similar ionosphere), where charged particles are produced when the otherwise neutral atmosphere is exposed to a flow of energetic particles or solar radiation. When the scientists tracked the pattern of emissions of a particular hydrogen molecule consisting of three hydrogen atoms (rather than the usual two), they expected to see a uniform planet-wide infrared glow. What they observed instead was a series of light and dark bands with a pattern mimicking the planet’s rings. Saturn’s magnetic field “maps” the water-rich rings and the water-free gaps between rings onto the planet’s atmosphere.

They surmised that charged water particles from the planet’s rings were being drawn towards the planet by Saturn’s magnetic field and neutralizing the glowing triatomic hydrogen ions. This leaves large “shadows” in what would otherwise be a planet-wide infrared glow. These shadows cover 30 to 43 percent of the planet’s upper atmosphere surface from around 25 to 55 degrees latitude. This is a significantly larger area than suggested by the Voyager images.

Both Earth and Jupiter have a very uniformly glowing equatorial region. Scientists expected this pattern at Saturn, too, but they instead saw dramatic differences at different latitudes.

“Where Jupiter is glowing evenly across its equatorial regions, Saturn has dark bands where the water is falling in, darkening the ionosphere,” said Tom Stallard, one of the paper’s co-authors at Leicester. “We’re now also trying to investigate these features with an instrument on NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. If we’re successful, Cassini may allow us to view in more detail the way that water is removing ionized particles, such as any changes in the altitude or effects that come with the time of day.”

Comments on this entry are closed.


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Ghost Hunters Spooked at Dragon*Con

September 24, 2009

This year—from September 4–7—I was a guest of the 23 rd Dragon*Con—the largest Science-Fiction, Comics, and Gaming convention in America. Held annually in Atlanta, it is so large that it dominates four hotels: the Hilton, Hyatt, Marriot, and Sheraton.

I was one of 500 guests, whose roster included such celebrities as Bruce Boxleitner (e.g., Scarecrow and Mrs. King ), Lou Ferrigno ( The Incredible Hulk ), Richard Kiel (the steel-toothed giant in two James Bond movies), and Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner ( Star Trek ). Among the fields of interest were the pro-paranormal X-Track and (ta-DAH) the Skeptics.

The X-Track included the likes of Dr. Frank Gordon, who held forth on “Tapping Your Psychic Potential”; a certain Father Bryan Small, who led a discussion on religion and spirituality “and how the paranormal impacts those beliefs”; tarot reader Kiki Gaia (not an official guest); and others, notably the Ghost Hunters ’ Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, self-described bestselling authors, whose book Ghost Hunting is actually ghost-written.

My involvement on the Skeptics side will give an idea of what we were about. I appeared on a panel titled “Who Are the Skeptics?” (that included, among others, Margaret Downey, Eugenie Scott, and Daniel Loxton); gave a presentation, “My life as a Skeptical Investigator”; served on another panel, “The Astronomer, the Alien Hunter, and a UFO Skeptic” (respectively, Phil Plait of JREF, Seth Shostak of SETI, and me of Skeptical Inquirer ); and gave another presentation (with Benjamin Radford) on “The Truth About Ghosts and Ghost Hunting.”

Not everyone could handle the truth. Following my comments on ghost-hunter types, who determine the authenticity of hauntings through the use of gadgets (EMF meters, infrared cameras, tape recorders, Geiger counters, etc., even dowsing rods)—namely, that they were engaging in pseudoscience—the Q & A session became lively. A couple of attending ghost hunters took exception to my conclusions and responded emotionally, angrily calling me a know-it-all. I replied that their acting as if they knew more than science demonstrated it was they who were truly arrogant.

I am certainly not opposed to the investigation of ghosts or spirits; indeed, I have done just that for forty years. However, the gadgetry approach does not find ghosts. (See my “Ghost Hunters,” Skeptical Inquirer Sept./Oct. 2006 .) It is a fool’s errand—albeit one represented in countless television “reality” shows and crocumentaries, as well as books—representing an epidemic of ignorance and superstition.

#1 Steve Diehl (Guest) on Thursday September 24, 2009 at 10:16am

Well, Joe, no surprise…
But, we’ve got to go one step further. We’ve got to name these knuckleheads and call them out.
Is there a disclaimer of any sort before the ghost hunting shows on SyFy network? If there is, it must be so brief that nobody notices. I’ll contact SyFy and ask them to provide a more obtrusive statement of truth before airing these shows. Will anyone join me?

#2 Myles L. (Guest) on Saturday September 26, 2009 at 8:51am

Great comeback to the Ghost Hunters!  I have a goal of becoming a production assistant on that show and writing an article about my experience banging pots and pans together.

#3 Heidi Anderson (Guest) on Monday September 28, 2009 at 6:23pm

I was present for the Joe Nickell/Ben Radford presentation, and they both did an excellent job of maintaining professionalism with the hostile and rude crowd.

More of us (myself included) could learn from these two on how to interact with believers.

#4 Tom Barefield (Guest) on Saturday October 10, 2009 at 7:12am

It’s really disheartening to see the kind of garbage that gets aired on the SyLLy channel these days.  Even worse is to wander through the forum at their website and realize that the viewers really do believe this junk!

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

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Silverdale’s going to the dogs

When Anita Bates began circulating a petition for a dog park, she had no idea the response would be so overwhelming.

“When I brought the petition out, people started coming out of the woodwork,” she said. “Everyone wanted it, but didn’t know what to do to help.”

Bates, president of the Silverdale Dog Park Stewardship, and her team of volunteers are forging ahead to create a two-acre, fenced-in dog park at Gateway Park on Silverdale Way.

She first circulated a petition in March and had more than 1,200 signatures by June. She soon presented the idea to Kitsap County commissioners.

“When I presented this to Steve Bauer and Josh Brown they loved it, they loved the passion,” Bates said.

While the south end of the county has several dog parks, central and northern Kitsap have limited opportunities for dogs and their owners.

“You have only one other dog park north of the Silverdale mall and that’s Raab Park and it’s a very small park,” Bates said.

The Silverdale Dog Park Stewardship meets monthly and is already raising money to build the dog park. Bates said they are hoping county commissioners will sign a memorandum of understanding before Christmas, which will serve as the official green light for the Silverdale Dog Park.

“Once it’s signed, we’ll feel more comfortable going after some grants,” Silverdale Dog Park Stewardship Vice President Mike McCown said.

The Silverdale Dog Park Stewardship is a nonprofit organization and the dog park will be constructed with money raised and donated by its supporters.

“This is fully funded by the stewardship,” McCown said. “There are no county bucks involved.”

The stewardship has already raised nearly $3,500, but Bates said it will take roughly $25,000 to build the dog park.

“And that’s the very basic plan of our park,” she said.

The Silverdale Dog Park will have two acres of fenced-in land, including a small dog area and an agility section.

“It wouldn’t just be a park where you come and let your dogs run around,” Bates said.

“We’re creating a new standard for developing dog parks in the area,” Bates said.

McCown said they’d like to have a larger area, but a larger location near the heart of Silverdale isn’t available.

“We didn’t want to be out in the boonies somewhere,” Bates said. “This site is close, it’s convenient, it’s right there.”

Bates stumbled across the section of land one day and there were already people taking their dogs there, so it seemed like the perfect location.

“You cannot go out there any hour of any day and not find some dogs out there,” she said.

Bates said if county commissioners do not approve Gateway Park as the site, they’ve offered to find another location.

“I don’t think we’re going to have to be looking for another site though,” she said.

If the memorandum of understanding is signed by the end of this year, Bates is hopeful the Silverdale Dog Park will be up and running by next summer.

The Silverdale Dog Park Stewardship is hosting a fundraising event at Famous Dave’s, located at 3276 NW Plaza Road in Silverdale, 5 to 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19. Present a voucher to the server to have 20 percent of the total bill donated to the Silverdale Dog Park Stewardship.

Vouchers are available at Naturally 4 Paws, Reid Real Estate and online at

A Silverdale Dog Park donation box is available at Naturally 4 Paws. Reid Real Estate will advertise future Silverdale Dog Park fundraisers on its reader board.

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Lowe's slated for Silverdale

Staff writer

Costco is slated to get a new neighbor later this year.

Construction on a new Lowes store will soon be under way at the southeast quadrant of Myhre Road and Mickelberry Road in Silverdale. The 102,000-square-foot store will be located behind Costco.

We expect construction to begin in late spring, Lowes Spokeswoman Maureen Rich said.

The do-it-yourself retailer is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2008 and will offer more than 32,000 products under one roof. Rich said Lowes is always evaluating new sites and looks at hundreds of factors, including the potential for growth and homeownership, when selecting new store locations.

Certainly in Silverdale we see a great potential for growth and that was one factor of hundreds we considered in expanding, she said.

Lowes is known for helping homeowners find the right equipment and supplies to build, improve, beautify and enjoy their homes, according to the company. The Silverdale store will feature a 28,700-square-foot garden center with a selection of flowers, bushes, trees and garden supplies tailored to Washingtons climate and lifestyle.

A store the size of the future Silverdale Lowes represents an average investment in the community of about $12 million and creates up to 120 new jobs. For more information about job opportunities at the future Silverdale Lowes, visit its career Web site at

Lowes works with Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, United Way and the Home Safety Council. In 2007, Lowes and the Lowes Charitable and Educational Foundation together contributed more than $27.5 million to support community and education projects in the United States and Canada. To date, Lowes Charitable and Educational Foundation has donated more than $550,000 in the state of Washington, according to a news release.

Lowes, the second largest home improvement retailer in the world, was founded in 1946 and is based in Mooresville, N.C. Lowes currently has 33 stores in Washington with one store under construction in Bonney Lake. For more information, visit the Lowes Web site at

We encourage an open exchange of ideas on this story's topic, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. Personal attacks, inappropriate language, and off-topic comments may be removed, and comment privileges revoked, per our Terms of Use. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.
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Is a Kohen allowed to attend the funeral of a loved one?

Is a Kohen allowed to attend the funeral of a loved one?

I heard that Kohanim (priests) are not permitted to attend the internment of a loved one. Is this true and why?

I hope your question is only an academic exercise. If not, please accept my condolences on your loss. May G‑d comfort you amongst all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Regarding your question: The underlying concept of Kohanim refraining from contact with the dead is because such contact would render them ritually impure, something that is forbidden for Kohanim because of their elevated spiritual level. The Priestly family was designated by G‑d to be the spiritual leaders of Israel, those who serve in the Temple and who are endowed with the power to bless the nation in G‑d's name.

As for relatives, the law is different. For next of kin -- parents, siblings (with the exception of a married sister), spouse and children -- not only is it permitted to attend their funerals and burial, but it is a mandatory mitzvah for a Kohen to attend and pay his final respects.

I hope this answers your question satisfactorily. Again, I'm not sure if a loved one has recently passed on or not. If there is a need for any kind of support or guidance, spiritual or emotional, I would advise you to contact your local Chabad rabbi.

You may also be interested in our comprehensive Death and Mourning section.

May we be blessed to only share good news with each other,

Rabbi Moshe Goldman for

Rabbi Moshe Goldman is the Director of Chabad of the Waterloo Region in Waterloo, Ontario. He is also a member of the Ask the Rabbi team.
All names of persons and locations or other identifying features referenced in these questions have been omitted or changed to preserve the anonymity of the questioners.
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Discussion (5)
October 5, 2010
Re: Attending a funreal or interment
While a Kohen may not enter a funeral chapel or approach within four cubits (approximately seven feet) of a dead person, many Jewish funeral homes have either a loudspeaker or a specially built room in order to accommodate Kohanim.

These rooms are specially constructed in a way that would not render a Kohen impure (as technically he does not share the same roof as the corpse).

Burials are a bit more tricky. Sometimes, when the immediate relatives are Kohanim they bury the person at the edge of the cemetery or in an area of the cemetery where there would be a way for a Kohen to get there and stand there without coming within four cubits of a grave.

One should consult with the officiating rabbi BEFORE the funeral in order to ascertain whether there are any accommodations for Kohanim to attend.
Yehuda Shurpin for
October 3, 2010
Is a Kohen allowed to attend the interment of the twin brother of his father? Father died when I was 14 and my uncle has been like my father for over 30 years. He is healthy but 80 years old. I would like to honor him when his time comes.
Miami, FL
April 22, 2010
What about attending the funeral of a friend - can a kohen attend?
Chicago , Illinois
August 1, 2007
Response to Anon
The rules for a "Bat Kohen," daughter of a Kohen are different. The verse which instructs the Kohanim to maintain their elevated spiritual state uses the term "Bnai Aharon," the SONS of Aharon. From here we deduce that the laws of purity apply to the sons of Aharon and not the daughters.
Rabbi Moishe Goldman (Author)
July 30, 2007
Kohan's daughter
Are there any rules for a Kohans daughter?
West Palm Beach, Fl./USA