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Related papers: The three-dimensional structure of Saturn's E ring

200 papers

Narrow planetary rings are eccentric and inclined. Particles within a given ring must therefore share the same pericenter and node. We solve for the three-dimensional geometries and mass distributions that enable the Uranian Alpha and Beta…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-10 Eugene I. Chiang , Christopher J. Culter

The thermal inertia values of Saturn's main rings (the A, B, and C rings and the Cassini division) are derived by applying our thermal model to azimuthally scanned spectra taken by the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS). Model…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-11 Ryuji Morishima , Linda Spilker , Keiji Ohtsuki

Radio occultations of Saturn's main rings by spacecraft suggest a power law particle size-distribution down to sizes of the order of 1 cm (Marouf et al., 1983), (Zebker et al., 1985). The lack of optical depth variations between ultraviolet…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2013-12-11 Rebecca A. Harbison , Philip D. Nicholson , Matthew M. Hedman

The detection of O2+ and O+ ions over Saturn's main rings by the Cassini INMS and CAPS instruments at Saturn orbit insertion (SOI) in 2004 confirmed the existence of the ring atmosphere and ionosphere. The source mechanism was suggested to…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-03 W. -L. Tseng , R. E. Johnson , M. K. Elrod

In June 2015, Cassini high-resolution images of Saturn's limb southwards of the planet's hexagonal wave revealed a system of at least six stacked haze layers above the upper cloud deck. Here, we characterize those haze layers and discuss…

Saturn's dynamic F-Ring still presents a challenge for understanding and explaining the kinematic processes that lead to the changing structure visible in our observations of this ring. This study examines the effect of Saturn's magnetic…

Space Physics · Physics 2009-11-10 L. S. Matthews , T. W. Hyde

Our analysis of Cassini/VIMS near-infrared spectra of Saturn's Great Storm of 2010-2011 reveals a multi-component aerosol composition comprised primarily of ammonia ice, with a significant component of water ice. The most likely third…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-02-23 Lawrence Sromovsky , Kevin Baines , Patrick Fry

The observed disparity between the radial dependence of the ion and electron densities measured by the Cassini plasma and radio science instruments are used to show that the region between the outer edge of Saturn's main rings and its…

Space Physics · Physics 2017-01-11 Robert E Johnson , Wei-Lin Tseng , Meredith K Elrod , Ann M Persoon

We present a photometric model of the rings of Saturn which includes the main rings and an F ring, inclined to the main rings, with a Gaussian vertical profile of optical depth. This model reproduces the asymmetry in brightness between the…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2013-10-14 Britt R. Scharringhausen , Philip D. Nicholson

Spitzer and Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) images and spectrophotometry of epsilon Eridani at wavelengths from 3.5 to 350 um reveal new details of its bright debris disk. The 350 um map confirms the presence of a ring at r = 11-28…

Saturn raises a time-dependent tide on its small moon Enceladus, due to the eccentricity of the orbit. As shown in a companion paper (Goldreich et al.), the resulting tidal heating drives Enceladus into a limit cycle, in which its…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2025-03-05 Yoram Lithwick

We present observations at optical wavelengths with the Cassini Spacecraft's Imaging Science System of the Phoebe ring, a vast debris disk around Saturn that seems to be collisionally generated by its irregular satellites. The analysis…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2016-05-25 Daniel Tamayo , Stephen R. Markham , Matthew M. Hedman , Joseph A. Burns , Douglas P. Hamilton

We use a state-of-the-art physics-based model of electromagnetic scattering to analyze average circular polarization ratios measured for the A and B rings of Saturn at a wavelength of 12.6 cm. This model is directly based on the Maxwell…

Astrophysics · Physics 2011-02-11 Michael I. Mishchenko , Janna M. Dlugach

In the last few years Cassini-VIMS, the Visible and Infared Mapping Spectrometer, returned to us a comprehensive view of the Saturn's icy satellites and rings. After having analyzed the satellites' spectral properties (Filacchione et al.…

This paper addresses the fine-scale axisymmetric structure exhibited in Saturn's A and B-rings. We aim to explain both the periodic microstructure on 150-220m, revealed by the Cassini UVIS and RSS instruments, and the irregular variations…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-05-13 Henrik N. Latter , Gordon I. Ogilvie

Aims. To investigate the mid-infrared (MIR) characteristics of Saturn's rings. Methods. We collected and analyzed MIR high spatial resolution images of Saturn's rings obtained in January 2008 and April 2005 with COMICS mounted on Subaru…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2017-03-01 Hideaki Fujiwara , Ryuji Morishima , Takuya Fujiyoshi , Takuya Yamashita

It is demonstrated how Saturn rings may be originated due to interaction of iced particles (with II kind superconductivity) moving by chaotic orbits within protoplanetary cloud with magnetic field of Saturn after it appearance. Eventually…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2020-05-04 Vladimir V. Tchernyi , Sergey V. Kapranov , Andrey Yu. Pospelov

The Voyager flyby observations revealed that a very broad doughnut shaped distribution of the hydrogen atoms existed in the Saturnian magnetosphere. Recent Cassini observations confirmed the local-time asymmetry but also showed the hydrogen…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-15 W. -L. Tseng , R. E. Johnson , W. -H. Ip

In this work, we model the radial density profile of the outer A ring of Saturn observed with Cassini cameras (Tiscareno & Harris 2018): An axisymmetric diffusion model has been developed, accounting for the outward viscous flow of the ring…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2019-06-20 Fabio M. Grätz , Michael Seiler , Martin Seiß , Holger Hoffmann , Frank Spahn

Density waves in Saturn's rings are usually tightly wrapped spiral patterns generated by resonances with either Saturn's moons or structures inside the planet. However, between the Barnard and Bessel Gaps in the Cassini Division (i.e.…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2019-02-27 M. M. Hedman , P. D. Nicholson