Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.2103h&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #21.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.423
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Using Cassini images, we examine the faint material along the orbits of Methone, Anthe and Pallene, three small moons of Saturn that reside between the orbits of Mimas and Enceladus. Images taken at extremely high phase angles reveal that a continuous ring of material covers the orbit of Pallene. By contrast, the material associated with Anthe and Methone appears to lie in longitudinally confined arcs. The Methone arc extends over 10 degrees in longitude around the satellite's position, while the Anthe arc reaches 20 degrees in length. The extents of these arcs are consistent with their confinement by nearby corotation eccentricity resonances with Mimas. Anthe has even been observed to shift in longitude relative to its arc in the expected manner given the predicted librations of the moon. These extremely faint rings should provide insights into the ability of small moons to generate dust and resonant perturbations to trap debris.
Beurle Kevin
Burns Joseph A.
Cooper Nathaniel J.
Evans Michael W.
Hedman Matthew M.
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