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| Disentangling Saturn's F ring. I. Clump orbits and lifetimes |
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| Author(s): Showalter MR |
| Source: ICARUS Volume: 171 Issue: 2 Pages: 356-371 Published: OCT 2004 |
| Times Cited: 11 References: 42 |
| Abstract: A comprehensive analysis of the Voyager images reveals the kinematics and lifetimes of clumps in the F Ring. At any given time, the ring has 2-3 major clumps, each several times brighter than the typical ring, plus numerous smaller features. A total of 34 individual clumps have been tracked over periods of 1-7 weeks. The clumps orbited at measurably different rates, implying a 100-km range of semimajor axes centered on 140,220 km. Most are centered around the nominal mean motion of the ring's core, but a few outliers may be associated with a different strand, or with no strand at all. Most clumps change very little over the similar to 30 days that they can be detected; however, no clump persisted for the nine-month interval between the two Voyager encounters. The brightest Voyager 2 clump is unusual in that it travels at a rapid mean motion and seems to be associated with the formation of several other clumps. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
| Document Type: Article |
| Language: English |
| Reprint Address: Showalter, MR (reprint author), Stanford Univ, NASA, Ames Res Ctr, MS 245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035 USA |
Addresses:
1. Stanford Univ, NASA, Ames Res Ctr, Moffett Field, CA 94035 USA |
| Publisher: ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE, 525 B ST, STE 1900, SAN DIEGO, CA 92101-4495 USA |
| Subject Category: Astronomy & Astrophysics |
| IDS Number: 857ZU |
| ISSN: 0019-1035 |
| DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2004.05.006 |
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