![SwRI scientists have compiled 41 solar occultation observations of Saturn's rings, encompassing data from NASA's Cassini mission over nearly 20 years. The compilation will facilitate future research into the size distribution and composition of particles in Saturn's rings, key factors in understanding their formation and evolution. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/Cornell SwRI Scientists Compile Cassini's Unique Observations of Saturn's Rings](https://oponame.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Scientists-Compile-Cassinis-Unique-Observations-of-Saturns-Rings.jpg)
SwRI scientists have compiled 41 solar occultation observations of Saturn’s rings, encompassing data from NASA’s Cassini mission over nearly 20 years. The compilation will facilitate future research into the size distribution and composition of particles in Saturn’s rings, key factors in understanding their formation and evolution. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/Cornell
Scientists from the Southwest Research Institute have compiled 41 solar occultation observations of Saturn’s rings from the Cassini mission. The compilation, recently published in the journal Icaruswill inform future research on the particle size distribution and composition of Saturn’s rings, key elements for understanding their formation and evolution.
“For nearly two decades, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has shared the wonders of Saturn and its family of icy moons and iconic rings, but we still don’t know definitively the origins of the ring system,” said said Dr. Stephanie Jarmak, a researcher in SwRI’s Space Science Division. “Evidence indicates that the rings are relatively young and may have formed as a result of the destruction of an icy satellite or a comet. However, to support any theory of origin, we need to have a good idea of the size of the particles that make up the rings.”
Cassini’s Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) was particularly sensitive to some of the smaller ring particles, especially with observations it made in the extreme ultraviolet wavelength.
To determine the size of the ring particles, UVIS observed them when the instrument was pointed at the sun, looking through the rings in what is called a solar occultation. The ring particles partially blocked the path of light, providing a direct measure of optical depth, a key parameter in determining ring particle size and composition.
“Given the wavelength of light coming from the sun, these observations gave us insight into the smaller particle sizes with Saturn’s rings,” Jarmak said. “UVIS can detect dust particles at the micron level, helping us understand the origin, collision activity and destruction of annular particles in the system.”
The compilation also looks at variations in the optical depth of occultation observations, which can help determine particle size and composition. During occultation, light emitted by a background source, such as the sun, is absorbed and scattered by particles in the light path. The amount of light blocked by ring particles provides a direct measure of the optical depth of the ring.
The inclusion of optical depth is essential to understanding the structure of the rings. The research measured optical depth as a function of viewing geometry, which refers to viewing angles of the ring system relative to the Cassini spacecraft. As the light passing through the rings changes at different angles, scientists can get a picture of the structures of the rings.
“Ring systems around giant planets also provide testbeds for studying fundamental physical properties and processes of our solar system in general,” Jarmak said. “These particles are thought to result from the collision and formation of objects in a disk and the formation of larger particles. Understanding how they form these ring systems could help us understand how planets form as well. “
The paper appears in Icarus.
Image: Daphnis, Saturn’s moon, in the Keeler Gap
SG Jarmak et al, Solar Occultation Observations of Saturn’s Rings with Cassini UVIS, Icarus (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115237
Provided by the Southwest Research Institute
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