Dec 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997hst..prop.7427f&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #7427
Other
Hst Proposal Id #7427 Solar System
Scientific paper
Saturn's rings are a unique dynamical laboratory and continue to present challenging problems which require additional data to attack. Making use of the capabilities of HST, and the changing geometry of the rings as seen from Earth orbit over the course of 1/4 Saturn year {7 Earth years}, we propose to address important outstanding problems such as the composition of the ring material {known to be radially variable on spatial scales down to hundreds of km}, the ``filling factor" of the rings {a key constraint on their dynamical behavior}, continuing controversy over the cause of the ``opposition brightening", transient gravitational instabilities {from their photometric signatures}, azimuthal asymmetries in ring brightness, refinement of orbits of dynamically important small satellites, and the temporal variability of the clumpy F ring, ``spokes", and other regions. This is a continuation of our original Cycle 6 long-term proposal to obtain a coherent set of images of the Saturnian ring system over the full range of ring tilt and phase angles accessible from the Earth. This time history and photometric survey will be completed just prior to Cassini's arrival at Saturn, and will provide valuable information for optimal planning of ring and small satellite observations during the Cassini tour. Here, we propose to use UBVRI, F255W, and compositional filters filters with the PC chip of WFPC2 to image the rings and adjacent small satellites over the full range of phase angles accessible during Cycle 7.
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