相关论文: The Two-component Model of the 'spokes' in Saturn'…

Observed first by amateur astronomer Stephen J. O'Meara in the 1970s and then subsequently observed by the Voyager Spacecraft flybys in the early 1980s, it was realised that the 'spokes' flare out like spokes on a bicycle wheel. The…

Spokes are localized clouds of fine particles that appear over the outer part of Saturn's B ring. Over the course of the Cassini Mission, the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) obtained over 20,000 images of the outer B ring, providing the…

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…

Goertz and Morfill (1983) propose that spokes on Saturn's rings form under radially moving plasma clouds produced by meteoroid impacts. We demonstrate that the speed at which a plasma cloud can move relative to the ring material is bounded…

The origin and evolution of Saturn's rings is critical to understanding the Saturnian system as a whole. Here, we discuss the physical and chemical composition of the rings, as a foundation for evolutionary models described in subsequent…

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…

We revisit the evidence for a "dust cloud" observed by the Cassini spacecraft at Saturn in 2006. The data of four instruments are simultaneously compared to interpret the signatures of a coherent swarm of dust that would have remained near…

The origin and long-term evolution of Saturn's rings is still an unsolved problem in modern planetary science. In this chapter we review the current state of our knowledge on this long-standing question for the main rings (A, Cassini…

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,…

Saturn's diffuse E ring consists of many tiny (micron and sub-micron) grains of water ice distributed between the orbits of Mimas and Titan. Various gravitational and non-gravitational forces perturb these particles' orbits, causing the…

The Cassini spacecraft's last orbits directly sampled Saturn's thermosphere and revealed a much more chemically complex environment than previously believed. Observations from the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) aboard Cassini…

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…

Plasma rotation plays a large role in determining the size and shape of Saturn's disc-like magnetosphere. A magnetosphere more confined to the equator in the polar regions is expected as a result of the interaction between this type of…

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…

This chapter summarizes our current understanding of the ionosphere of Saturn. We give an overview of Saturn ionospheric science from the Voyager era to the present, with a focus on the wealth of new data and discoveries enabled by Cassini,…

The diamagnetism of ice particles of the rings can explain their separation and the sharp edges of the rings. The existing gravitational theories of the origin of rings can't explain these observed facts. Taking into account the magnetic…

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…

For its beautiful rings, active atmosphere and mysterious magnetic field, Saturn is a fascinating planet. It also holds some of the keys to understanding the formation of our Solar System and the evolution of giant planets in general. While…

We identify multiple periodic dusty structures in Saturn's Roche Division, a faint region spanning the $\sim3000$ km between the A and F rings. The locations and extent of these features vary over Cassini's tour of the Saturn system, being…

Saturn's ionosphere is produced when the otherwise neutral atmosphere is exposed to a flow of energetic charged particles or solar radiation. At low latitudes the latter should result in a weak planet-wide glow in infrared (IR),…