An evaluation of a catastrophic fragmentation origin of the Saturnian ring system

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

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Cosmology, Planetary Evolution, Saturn Rings, Saturn Satellites, Comet Nuclei, Hypervelocity Impact, Impact Damage

Scientific paper

To assess the scenario of a very recent origin of the Saturnian ring system as suggested by several lines of dynamical investigations, the critical size of a (cometary) projectile with enough impact kinetic energy to catastrophically fragement the precursor satellite is estimated. For a mean collision speed of 31 km s-1 and an impact strength of 107dyn/cm2 for a 55-km radius precursor body, the radius of the cometary nucleus should be about 1.0 km. Statistics of long-period comets and current estimate of the size distribution of cometary nuclei imply collisional breakup time scale of ≈6×109yr for the ring precursor satellite. The alleged parent body of the ring system thus could have sustained impact bombardment over the history of the solar system - after the early heavy bombardment event - until the present time.

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