A Search for the Martian Dust Belts

Details A Search for the Martian Dust Belts A Search for the Martian Dust Belts

Jul 2000

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000hst..prop.8579s&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #8579

Physics

Hst Proposal Id #8579 Solar System

Scientific paper

It has been long believed that Mars should be encircled by two faint rings of dust, one originating from each of its moons Phobos and Deimos. Similar dust rings have recently been associated with all the inner small moons of Jupiter. On May 28, 2001, Earth will pass through Mars' equatorial plane within weeks of its opposition, providing a unique opportunity to detect these rings via direct imaging. Using WFPC2, we will be able to detect rings with normal optical depths of ~10^-8, which is well within the range of the Martian rings' predicted densities and 10-100 times fainter than the known Jovian rings. The rings have been predicted to show some interesting dynamical properties, including large asymmetries and inclinations. A positive detection will enable us to test these predictions, serving as an effective test of models developed to account for the faint rings of Jupiter and Saturn as well. It will also provide both photometric and dynamical constraints on the dust size distribution, enabling us to distinguish between several models of the rings' dynamics and evolution.

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