Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufm.p52a..09b&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #P52A-09
Other
[6265] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Planetary Rings, [6610] Public Issues / Funding, [6620] Public Issues / Science Policy
Scientific paper
The study of planetary ring systems forms a key component of planetary science for several reasons: 1) The evolution and current states of planets and their satellites are affected in many ways by rings, while 2) conversely, properties of planets and moons and other solar system populations are revealed by their effects on rings; 3) highly structured and apparently delicate ring systems may be bellwethers, constraining various theories of the origin and evolution of their entire planetary system; and finally, 4) planetary rings provide an easily observable analogue to other astrophysical disk systems, enabling real “ground truth” results applicable to disks much more remote in space and/or time, including proto-planetary disks, circum-stellar disks, and even galaxies. Significant advances have been made in rings science in the past decade. The highest-priority rings research recommendations of the last Planetary Science Decadal Survey were to operate and extend the Cassini orbiter mission at Saturn; this has been done with tremendous success, accounting for much of the progress made on key science questions, as we will describe. Important progress in understanding the rings of Saturn and other planets has also come from Earth-based observational and theoretical work, again as prioritized by the last Decadal Survey. However, much important work remains to be done. At Saturn, the Cassini Solstice Mission must be brought to a successful completion. Priority should also be placed on sending spacecraft to Neptune and/or Uranus, now unvisited for more than 20 years. At Jupiter and Pluto, opportunities afforded by visiting spacecraft capable of studying rings should be exploited. On Earth, the need for continued research and analysis remains strong, including in-depth analysis of rings data already obtained, numerical and theoretical modeling work, laboratory analysis of materials and processes analogous to those found in the outer solar system, and continued Earth-based observations. Members of the Rings White Paper Team include: Matthew S. Tiscareno (Cornell U), Nicole Albers (U of Colorado), Todd Bradley (U of Central Florida), André Brahic (U of Paris, France), Shawn Brooks (JPL), Joseph Burns (Cornell U), Carlos Chavez (UNAM, Mexico), Joshua Colwell (U of Central Florida), Jeff Cuzzi (NASA Ames), Imke de Pater (U of California), Luke Dones (SwRI), Richard Durisen (Indiana U), Michael Evans (Cornell U), Cecile Ferrari (CEA Saclay, France), Gianrico Filacchione (INAF-IASF, Italy), Silvia Giuliatti Winter (UNESP, Brazil), Mitch Gordon (SETI), Amara Graps (SwRI), Eberhard Gruen (MPI, Germany), Douglas Hamilton (U of Maryland), Matthew Hedman (Cornell U), Mihaly Horanyi (U of Colorado), Sascha Kempf (MPI, Germany), Harald Krueger (MPI, Germany), Steve Larson (U of Arizona), Mark Lewis (Trinity U), Jack Lissauer (NASA Ames), Colin Mitchell (CICLOPS/SSI), Carl Murray (QMUL, England), Philip Nicholson (Cornell U), Cathy Olkin (SwRI), Robert Pappalardo (JPL), Frank Postberg (MPI, Germany), Heikki Salo (U of Oulu, Finland), Juergen Schmidt (U of Potsdam, Germany), David Seal (JPL), Mark Showalter (SETI), Frank Spahn (U of Potsdam, Germany), Linda Spilker (JPL), Joseph Spitale (CICLOPS/SSI), Ralf Srama (MPI, Germany), Miodrag Sremcevic (U of Colorado), Glen Stewart (U of Colorado), John Weiss (Carleton College), Padma Yanamandra-Fisher (JPL)
Burns Joseph A.
Tiscareno Matthew S.
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