Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufm.p54a..07c&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #P54A-07
Physics
[5759] Planetary Sciences: Fluid Planets / Rings And Dust, [6265] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Planetary Rings
Scientific paper
More than 100 occultations of stars by Saturn’s rings have been observed by the Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS). The sampling interval of the occultations is usually 1 or 2 ms, corresponding to a projected spacing in the ring plane on the order of 10 m, with the exact value depending on the occultation geometry. This resolution makes it possible to detect structures on the scale of the largest individual particles in the rings. In general these can only be seen through statistical measures of the data. However there are some instances where there are unambiguous detections of clumps or gaps in the rings at scales too small to be seen in images. The appearance of these features in isolated occultations shows that they are not narrow, azimuthally continuous ring features. Instead they are due to unusually large clumps or individual particles that are either directly occulting the star or producing spatially limited gaps that allow the star to shine through the rings without attenuation. Clumps detected in the F ring have been reported in Esposito et al. (Icarus, vol. 194, 278-289, 2008). One occultation passed near a moonlet or “propeller object” in the outer A ring and observed the wake produced by that object (Colwell et al., Eur. Plan. Sci. Con. 2008, Tiscareno et al., Div. Plan. Sci. Mtg. 2008). Here we present a summary of statistically significant features seen in isolated occultations in the main rings (A, B, C, and Cassini Division). We also describe statistical measures of the distribution of clumps and associated gaps or openings in the rings. We discuss the implications of these detections for the distribution of large objects and clumps throughout the rings.
Colwell Joshua E.
Esposito W. L. W. L.
Miodrag Sremčević
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