• search hit 5 of 6
Back to Result List

Structures induced by small moonlets in Saturn's rings : implications for the Cassini Mission

  • Particle simulations are carried out to study density features caused by small moonlets embedded in a dense planetary ring. The creation of a "propeller" like structure is found together with adjacent density wakes. Both features are clear indications for the existence of moonlets in the rings. We confirmed that the propeller scales with the Hill-radius in radial direction whereas its azimuthal extent is determined by the ratio between the moonlet-mass and the ring-viscosity. Our findings bear direct implications for the analysis of the Cassini imaging (ISS) and occultation (UVIS) data: (i) for the detection of embedded larger bodies (>30 m) in Saturn's rings, and (ii) for remotely probing transport properties of the rings. The existence of a moonlet population may point to a catastrophic disruption of a parent body as a formation scenario for rings

Export metadata

Additional Services

Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author details:Martin SeissORCiDGND, Frank SpahnORCiDGND, Miodrag SremcevicORCiD, H. Salo
ISSN:0094-8276
Publication type:Article
Language:English
Year of first publication:2005
Publication year:2005
Release date:2017/03/24
Source:Geophysical Research Letters. - ISSN 0094-8276. - 32 (2005), 11, S. 4
Organizational units:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie
Peer review:Referiert
Institution name at the time of the publication:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik
Accept ✔
This website uses technically necessary session cookies. By continuing to use the website, you agree to this. You can find our privacy policy here.