Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.2407s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #24.07; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.431
Mathematics
Logic
1
Scientific paper
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, we have conducted extensive observations of Uranus during 2003-2007, as the planet approached its recent equinox. We will present our latest results on the outer ring-moon system, which orbits between the main ring system and Miranda. This region contains eleven known moons and at least two faint dust rings. Principal results are as follows. (1) The tiny moon Mab follows an orbit that shows large perturbations, but no cause has been identified. (2) The orbital elements of all the inner Uranian moons are showing significant changes since the Voyager epoch. Astrometry and orbital modeling for the period 1994-2007 will be presented. This work supports inferences that the system is chaotic, with catastrophic changes expected over time scales of 106 years. (3) Recent HST images confirm that the mu ring is blue, indicating that it is composed primarily of sub-micron particles. Saturn's E ring, which originates in the dust plumes of Enceladus, is the only other known blue ring. Although Mab orbits at the core of the mu ring, it seems far too small to be geologically active. (4) The mu ring shows large, persistent variations in brightness with longitude, although Kepler shear should erase these variations within 1 month. The pattern appears to propagate at a speed 1.4 degrees/day slower than Mab, suggesting the core of material is orbiting 235 km further from the planet. The orbital variations of Mab and the color and variability of the mu ring remain unexplained, but the presence of three puzzling results in the same region suggests that they might be related. We are exploring the possibility that a swarm of unseen, smaller moons may be orbiting within this region.
Dawson Rebekah
de Pater Imke
French Richard G.
Hamilton Douglas P.
Lissauer Jack . J.
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