Large-scale structure of Saturn's E-ring
Abstract
Geysers on the recently discovered, geologically active south-polar region of the moon Enceladus are now recognized as the dominant source of material in Saturn's E ring. The ring was traditionally thought to span the region between 3 to 8 R S , where R S is the radius of Saturn. However, new in situ dust measurements indicate that the density of small grains might continuously extend far beyond these boundaries, and the E ring could reach even beyond the orbit of Titan (20.3 R S ). We report on the modeling results of the long-term evolution of dust particles comprising the E ring to show that grains from Enceladus could indeed reach the outskirts of Saturn's magnetosphere.
- Publication:
-
Geophysical Research Letters
- Pub Date:
- February 2008
- DOI:
- 10.1029/2007GL032726
- Bibcode:
- 2008GeoRL..35.4203H
- Keywords:
-
- Planetary Sciences: Fluid Planets: Rings and dust;
- Space Plasma Physics: Plasma interactions with dust and aerosols (2461);
- Magnetospheric Physics: Planetary magnetospheres (5443;
- 5737;
- 6033)