Occultation Observations of the Outer Edge of Saturn's B Ring

Details Occultation Observations of the Outer Edge of Saturn's B Ring Occultation Observations of the Outer Edge of Saturn's B Ring

May 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dda....40.0608f&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DDA meeting #40, #6.08; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.900

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The outer edge of Saturn's B ring has long been known to be affected by the nearby Mimas 2:1 resonance, resulting in an m=2 centered elliptical shape with a variation of +/- 70 km from a mean radius of about 117,580 km. Voyager occultation and imaging observations indicated that the minimum radius of the ring edge was aligned with Mimas, and that the edge pattern rotated with the mean motion of Mimas (Smith et al. 1983, Porco et al. 1984). Subsequent Cassini ISS observations showed that the actual situation was more complicated, with the m=2 pattern periapse leading Mimas by about 28 deg and a possible m=3 component as well (Spitale et al. 2006, BAAS 38, 578). During 2005, the Cassini RSS team observed a series of diametric occultations of the entire ring system, providing 12 precise measurements of the B ring edge over a range of orbital longitudes. We have performed orbit fits to these measurements, combined with results from Voyager RSS, 28 Sgr, and HST occultations. Collectively, these data span 24 years. A simple model of the B ring edge rotating at the orbital mean motion of Mimas results in an extremely poor fit, regardless of the assumed longitude offset. Another possibility is that the ring edge librates, as proposed by Hedman et al. (this conference). We will explore this possibility and present detailed model fits to the Cassini RSS and pre-Cassini occultation data, setting limits on possible libration periods and amplitudes.

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