Oct 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.1903n&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #19.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.981
Other
1
Scientific paper
The most prominent wavelike feature in Saturn's C ring, at a radius of 77520 - 77600 km, was identified by Rosen & Lissauer (1988; Science 241, 690) in Voyager radio occultation data as a vertical or bending wave driven at the Titan -1:0 nodal resonance. At such a resonance, the nodal regression rate of ring particles approximately matches the negative of the satellite's mean motion. Unlike other bending waves, this wave propagates radially outwards due to its negative pattern speed; its prominence in the Voyager profile was attributed to the very low elevation angle of 6 degrees, which amplified the effect of subtle vertical corrugations. However, the same wave appears in twenty stellar occultation profiles of the C ring obtained with the Cassini VIMS instrument at elevation angles as high as 62 degrees, casting some doubt on its identification as a bending wave. Also troubling is an apparently empty gap in the inner part of the Voyager wave profile, which also appears in about one-half of the VIMS profiles. When these data are organized by their position with respect to the predicted spiral pattern, the gap is seen to extend over 180 degrees in longitude, with varying width. A simple model which can account for these observations consists of a very narrow (< 1 km), continuous gap, one of whose edges is inclined with respect to the other by a few km. This is comparable to the amplitude of the bending wave inferred by Rosen & Lissauer. The gap is located only 14 km exterior to the nominal location of the -1:0 resonance, suggesting that the vertical displacement of its edge is resonantly forced. We acknowledge helpful discussions with R.G. French of the Cassini RSS team, and support from the Cassini/Huygens project.
Cassini Vims Team
Hedman Matthew M.
Nicholson Philip D.
No associations
LandOfFree
A Crack in the C Ring? does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with A Crack in the C Ring?, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Crack in the C Ring? will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1122024