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We present a review of Saturn's interior structure and thermal evolution, with a particular focus on work in the past 5 years. Data from the Cassini mission, including a precise determination of the gravity field from the Grand Finale…

We analyze several thousand Cassini ISS images in order to study the inner edge of the Keeler gap in Saturn's outer A ring. We find strong evidence for an m=32 perturbation with a mean amplitude of radial variation of 4.5 km. Phase analysis…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2017-09-08 Radwan Tajeddine , Philip D. Nicholson , Matthew S. Tiscareno , Matthew M. Hedman , Joseph A. Burns , Maryame El Moutamid

The ejecta discharged by impacting meteorites can redistribute a planetary ring's mass and angular momentum. This `ballistic transport' of ring properties instigates a linear instability that could generate the 100--1000-km undulations…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-10-14 Henrik Latter , Gordon Ogilvie , Marie Chupeau

Saturn's C ring contains multiple spiral patterns that appear to be density waves driven by periodic gravitational perturbations. In other parts of Saturn's rings, such waves are generated by Lindblad resonances with Saturn's various moons,…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-15 M. M. Hedman , P. D. Nicholson

We explore whether hyperbolic diffusion may help explain sharp edges in the gaps in Saturn's rings. Sharp edges are conventionally understood to be due to angular momentum flux reversal at gap edges. We do not dispute this finding, but…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2025-03-06 Peter Todd Williams

We have observed a stellar occultation of GSC5249-01240 by Saturn's north polar region on November 20, 1995 from NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). This is the first recorded occultation by the polar region of a giant planet. The…

Certain spiral density waves in Saturn's rings are generated through resonances with planetary normal modes, making them valuable probes of Saturn's internal structure. Previous research has primarily focused on the rotation rates of these…

Spacecraft and ground-based observations show that the main rings of Saturn lack particles larger than 10 m. Tidal or collisional destruction of satellites/comets have been proposed as the origin of the main rings; however, Saturn's tide…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2022-05-12 Naoyuki Hirata , Ryuji Morishima , Keiji Ohtsuki , Akiko M. Nakamura

Saturn's rings, reminiscent of an early Solar System present a unique opportunity to investigate experimentally some mechanisms thought to be responsible for planet and planetesimal formation in protoplanetary discs. Here we extended the…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-18 Phil J Sutton , Feo Kusmartsev

Saturn's main rings exhibit variations in both their opacity and spectral properties on a broad range of spatial scales, and the correlations between these parameters can provide insights into the processes that shape the composition and…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2013-01-14 M. M. Hedman , P. D. Nicholson , J. N. Cuzzi , R. N. Clark , G. Filacchione , F. Capaccioni , M. Ciarniello

Saturn's rings are composed of icy grains, most in the mm to m size ranges, undergoing several collisions per orbit. Their collective behaviour generates a remarkable array of structure over many orders of magnitude, much of it not well…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2023-01-18 Rémy Larue , Henrik Latter , Hanno Rein

Anderson & Schubert (2007, Science,317,1384) proposed that Saturn's rotation period can be ascertained by minimizing the dynamic heights of the 100 mbar isosurface with respect to the geoid; they derived a rotation period of 10h 32m 35s. We…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2019-03-28 Ravit Helled , Gerald Schubert , John D. Anderson

The Cassini spacecraft revealed the spectacular, highly irregular shapes of the small inner moons of Saturn, ranging from the unique "ravioli-like" forms of Pan and Atlas to the highly elongated structure of Prometheus. Closest to Saturn,…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2018-05-23 Adrien Leleu , Martin Jutzi , Martin Rubin

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

The so-called "Charming Ringlet" (R/2006 S3) is a low-optical-depth, dusty ringlet located in the Laplace gap in the Cassini Division. This ringlet is particularly interesting because its radial position varies systematically with longitude…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2010-10-01 M. M. Hedman , J. A. Burt , J. A. Burns , M. S. Tiscareno

We present an analysis of data about Saturn's atmosphere from Cassini's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS), focusing on the meteorology of the features seen in the 5-micron spectral window. We present VIMS mosaics and discuss…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2013-01-28 David S. Choi , Adam P. Showman , Robert H. Brown

Spokes in Saturn's rings are radially-extended structures consisting of dust grains. Although spacecraft and space telescope observations have revealed various detailed features of the spokes and their time variation, their formation…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2024-03-06 Naoyuki Hirata , Hiroshi Kimura , Keiji Ohtsukia

Images obtained by the Cassini spacecraft between 2012 and 2015 reveal a periodic brightness variation in a region of Saturn's D ring that previously appeared to be rather featureless. Furthermore, the intensity and radial wavenumber of…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2016-08-31 M. M. Hedman , M. R. Showalter

Kilometer-sized moonlets in Saturn's A ring create S-shaped wakes called "propellers" in surrounding material. The Cassini spacecraft has tracked the motions of propellers for several years and finds that they deviate from Keplerian orbits…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-05 Margaret Pan , Hanno Rein , Eugene Chiang , Steven N. Evans

We use a simple model of the dynamics of a narrow-eccentric ring, to put some constraints on some of the observable properties of the real systems.In this work we concentrate on the case of the `Titan ringlet of Saturn'.Our approach is…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-10 M. D. Melita , J. C. B. Papaloizou