Physical characteristics and non-keplerian orbital motion of "propeller" moons embedded in Saturn's rings

Details Physical characteristics and non-keplerian orbital motion of "propeller" moons embedded in Saturn's rings Physical characteristics and non-keplerian orbital motion of "propeller" moons embedded in Saturn's rings

2010-07-06

arxiv.org/abs/1007.1008v1

Astrophys. J. Lett. 718, L92-L96 (2010)

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

9 pages, 4 figures; Published in ApJL

Scientific paper

We report the discovery of several large "propeller" moons in the outer part of Saturn's A ring, objects large enough to be followed over the 5-year duration of the Cassini mission. These are the first objects ever discovered that can be tracked as individual moons, but do not orbit in empty space. We infer sizes up to 1--2 km for the unseen moonlets at the center of the propeller-shaped structures, though many structural and photometric properties of propeller structures remain unclear. Finally, we demonstrate that some propellers undergo sustained non-keplerian orbit motion. (Note: This arXiv version of the paper contains supplementary tables that were left out of the ApJL version due to lack of space).

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Physical characteristics and non-keplerian orbital motion of "propeller" moons embedded in Saturn's rings 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 Physical characteristics and non-keplerian orbital motion of "propeller" moons embedded in Saturn's rings, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Physical characteristics and non-keplerian orbital motion of "propeller" moons embedded in Saturn's rings will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-344640